Austin Cindric shares bittersweet take on Atlanta finish amid solid results for Team Penske duo

Austin Cindric had a bittersweet take on how Sunday's Round of 16 opener at Atlanta Motor Speedway played out for him. While speaking with Frontstretch after the race, the Team Penske driver felt his No. 2 Ford Mustang was fast enough to win the 260-lap event.

Austin Cindric is in his third year driving in the Cup Series. The Mooresville native won the crown jewel Daytona 500 in his first year driving a Penske Ford. Cindric won the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship in 2020. Besides that, he has 13 wins in the Xfinity Series.

With all three Team Penske drivers rounding up the top 10, Roger Penske had the last laugh at Atlanta. Joey Logano won the Quaker State 400 at the quad-oval intermediate speedway in Hampton, Georgia, while Ryan Blaney finished P3.

"I think it was really good. I don't think it was great," Cindric said. "I feel like we had a car capable of winning the race today. Just couldn't get back up to the field, got stopped a few times; wish we obviously had that pit stop going into Stage 3."

While Blaney won Stage 1, Cindric took Stage 2, leading a race-high 92 laps. As per reports, Cindric had never led these many laps in the Cup Series before. Furthermore, he bagged 46 playoff points, the fourth-highest in the 38-player field.

"Overall, really happy with the pace and the drivability of the car and the points we gained. Great to have a team win. Our cars have been super dominant on these races," he added.

Cindric currently sits seventh in the NASCAR Cup Series standings with 2053 points. His next race is at Watkins Glen International on September 15th (USA, NBC Sports, 3 PM ET onwards).

Austin Cindric revealed playoff strategy ahead of the weekend at Atlanta

The 10-week-long playoff 5 is a body of work to make no mistakes and survive till the Championship 4. For Austin Cindric, the best strategy is to gather as many points as possible.

Speaking of which, in a recent interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, the 26-year-old said,

"We were seeded 10th. I've only got two points that separate me between the cutline, which is good...I'm ahead, better be ahead than behind. I feel like I'm on the average as far as where guys are at. But otherwise, I can double my advantage by just finishing in one stage."

Cindric further stated that it doesn't matter if the drivers he would be racing over the next 10 races were locked in the playoffs or not.

"The guys that got eliminated or didn’t make the cut for the playoffs, those are championship-caliber cars and teams and drivers," Cindric explained. "And those guys are still gonna be guys I have to race for the next however many weeks for the playoffs."

"It's not gonna be all 16 playoff cars occupying every single spot that gives away stage points and playoff points in these races," he added.