"Past success doesn’t equal future success" - Austin Cindric looks back at rookie season woes after debut Daytona 500 win

NASCAR Cup Series debutant Austin Cindric experienced one of the most impressive starts to his rookie year in the highest echelon of the sport in 2022. The 23-year-old made his full-time Cup Series debut this year with Team Penske and exploded onto the scene by visiting Victory Lane in the first points race of the season, the 64th Daytona 500.

Cindric made a solid first impression among fans and solidified himself as a playoff contender from the get-go. Since winning at the historic Daytona International Speedway in February earlier this year, however, rookie woes have seemed to set in for the Columbus, Ohio native.

The #2 Ford Mustang driver has managed to finish in the top-10 only three times since the EchoPark Automotive Texas Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. Cindric elaborated on the uncertainty of the new cars this year owing to his performances and said:

“Some weeks are good, and some weeks are not so good. It’s somewhat of a common feeling throughout the field. You start to figure out more and more of what the car wants and then you show up one weekend and it’s completely out of your expectation.”

With the Kwik Trip 250 presented by Jockey slated to go live tomorrow at Road America, Austin Cindric seems pretty excited to take to the Wisconsin track. With two back-to-back top-10s in his last two appearances, Cindric took a realistic approach to the weekend and said:

“Past success doesn’t equal future success. If you’re calling a top 10 a success, then I could just as easily as well run outside the top 10 at Road America so I’m not looking at it as a gain.”

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Austin Cindric on solidifying his position in the playoffs

2022 Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric had a dream start to his debut Cup Series season. The start of his 2022 campaign saw the 23-year-old win the prestigious 500-mile-long race on the first time of asking. Although the win solidified Cindric's position in the NASCAR playoffs, the performance has dropped for the #2 Ford Mustang driver.

After two consecutive top-10 finishes in the last two races, Cindric went on to elaborate on what made the difference and said:

“I would say my effort level per weekend has been fairly consistent. We’ve had speed at different times in the weekends. Everyone’s trying to figure out the cars and figure out what makes things work.”

Watch the complete interview below:

The Kwik Trip 250 presented by Jockey goes live tomorrow at 3:00 pm ET on FS1.