“I’m not afraid to go there and put my name in the hat”: Austin Cindric hoping to be in the mix to win at Daytona

With one final NASCAR postseason playoff spot left to be confirmed, Team Penske's Austin Cindric heads into the regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway, hoping to repeat history. Having won his sole Cup Series race in his short racing career at the Florida Superspeedway, Cindric looks forward to rounding out the 2023 season at the venue.

With green flag racing action returning to the iconic 2.5-mile-long track, NASCAR drivers hope to close out the season exactly where they started at the beginning of the year with the famed Daytona 500. This upcoming Sunday's Coke Zero Sugar 400 will see one final driver out of a group of sixteen to challenge for the title this year.

Winner of 'The Great American Race,' the Daytona 500 at the venue last season, Austin Cindric knows how it feels to lead a pack of blood-hungry drivers as the white flag drops. Going into this year's summer race at the 31° banked track, Cindric was cautiously optimistic of his chances. He elaborated to speedwaydigest.com:

"It's a very social style of racing. This is an environment that is much more in our control. I've had success. We've had speed at these styles of racetracks. I'm not afraid to go there and put my name in the hat and say that I can win because I know I can."

Austin Cindric became yet another first-time winner at the Daytona International Speedway's summer race, with no current driver also managing to take repeat victories in the event.

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Austin Cindric's performances during the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series regular season

While the highs of the start of the 2022 season might be a core memory for Team Penske's #2 Ford Mustang driver, Austin Cindric has kind of been under the radar ever since. The 2023 regular season has seen the young 24-year-old driver not have the best of seasons, especially with no stand-out performances like at Daytona last year.

Austin Cindric's best result of the year so far has been three separate P6 finishes in Las Vegas, Austin, and Chicago. This year's Daytona 500 also saw the odds stack up against the Columbus, Ohio native, with him finishing in P23 after a P6 start to the famous race.

Cindric is not in plain sight of his playoff berth and hopes to turn it around with the right amount of luck and skill at Daytona this Sunday. The race goes live on the USA Network on 26 August 2023 at 7:00 pm ET.