"Not an opportunity that’s guaranteed every year" - Austin Cindric feels just being 'competitive' is not enough to make it into NASCAR Cup Series playoffs

The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs are expected to blow fans away this season, with variables such as rookie Austin Cindric in the mix, as well as the still new and somewhat unknown Next Gen cup car. As the sport heads to Texas Motor Speedway for the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500, Team Penske's #2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang driver Cindric is sizing up the opportunity he has on his hands this year.

Going into the 500-mile-long race on the 1.5-mile-long track in the city of Fort Worth, Texas, the Columbus, Ohio-native seemed confident in his abilities. The 24-year-old rookie was firmly looking ahead to qualifying for Round of 8, as he felt he had the speed and performance needed over the next three rounds of the sport. When asked what his expectations were going in at the start of the season, Austin Cindric spoke about how they have evolved over the course of the year, and said:

"I think if someone would have offered me a Daytona 500 win and further into the playoffs at the beginning of the season, yeah, I probably would have taken that deal in my rookie year. But I also believe and I’ve said it at playoff media day that we’re in an era that you’re probably gonna have to win races to make it to the Championship 4, at least in the playoffs. And I think in the season where past champions haven’t made it into the playoffs, you have to look at yourself and say this is not an opportunity that’s guaranteed every year."

Cindric spoke about how he thinks winning in the Cup Series is as crucial as being consistent in the sport, and that makes or breaks a driver's playoff aspirations.

"You can’t just be competitive and make it into the playoffs. You have to be winners at some point in the season, so not saying I can’t go out next year and go win a race or two, but I’m just saying it’s hard to do that in the Cup Series and I want to take advantage of the chance that I have right now of being in the playoff. We’ve all seen how crazy it’s gotten this year."

Watch Austin Cindric compete in this Sunday's Round of 12 race at Texas Motor Speedway at 3:30 pm ET.

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Austin Cindric's advice on crew chief change for teammate Ryan Blaney

Having endured a crew chief change himself, Austin Cindric had some words of advice for his teammate Ryan Blaney, as the latter faces a crew chief change heading into the weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. Cindric said:

"I think every team is gonna go through that a bit differently. Obviously, it’s not ideal, especially at this point in the year. For us, in the middle of the summer, it wasn’t as stressful at the time. I think we’ve got a lot of depth at Team Penske, so I’m personally not really worried for him just because I think no matter what the result is and whenever the suspension is taken, I think that they’re gonna be fine. We’ve got a lot of depth and make sure that they cross their t’s and dot their i’s."

Watch Austin Cindric try and make his Round of 8 aspirations into reality this Sunday during the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500.