"I wasn’t aggressive enough in a lot of areas" - Austin Cindric has a lot to learn despite clinching pole at Auto Club Speedway

NASCAR rookie driver Austin Cindric has kicked off his first Cup Series with an immense amount of energy. The Team Penske driver of Ford Mustang No. 2, is a former rider of Brad Keselowski. He left the team ahead of the 2022 season.

On Sunday, February 20th, the rookie surprised everyone after he secured the most coveted race in NASCAR’s Daytona 500 for his first Cup Series win.

It seems it wasn’t by luck that he won the Daytona 500, Austin Cindric went further and clinched the Wise Power 400 pole at the Auto Club Speedway. On his Twitter, he stated that:

"On the POLE @AutoClubSpdwy Wow, wild day. Lots of challenges and commitment, that was fun. Gonna enjoy today. Back tomorrow for more."

NASCAR also congratulated him on Twitter for winning the NASCAR Cup Series pole for the first time.

Despite securing the pole, the rookie has admitted he doesn’t know everything and still has a lot to learn, stating that:

“I am not going to sit here and tell you that I know what all those things are. You have to be somewhat conservative in some areas and somewhat aggressive in other areas. I was having to talk myself into my lap because I wasn’t aggressive enough in a lot of areas. I think the learning process is different for every driver and every team. You key off different things and there is a lot that is different right now.”

The 23-year-old driver is entering his first Cup Series season following a successful Xfinity Series.

Following his Cup Series promotion, Austin’s first race of the season was the highly glorified Daytona 500. The win made him the ninth NASCAR driver to win his first Cup series in the Daytona 500.

Austin Cindric impressive results in the Qualifying race

An impressive and stunning performance at the Daytona 500 saw him win the coveted trophy. Austin Cindric has proven his racing ability after clinching the Wise Power 400 pole at the Auto Club Speedway.

In the qualifying race, Austin Cindric recorded an average lap speed of 174.647 miles per hour after edging out Erik Jones. Having won the pole, his chances of winning his second race of the season are very high, considering his talent.

Prior to his promotion, he was the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion. He has also recorded five wins in the 2021 season and 13 career Xfinity wins.