Yellawood 500: Talladega Superspeedway
Lincoln, Ala.  – October 6, 2024

AUSTIN CINDRIC No. 2 DISCOUNT TIRE FORD MUSTANG
START: 2ND  STAGE ONE: 9TH   STAGE TWO: 1ST FINISH: 32ND  POINTS: 11TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Austin Cindric appeared to be on track for victory at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, showcasing dominant form by leading a race-high 29 laps and running in the top spot in the final laps. However, with just five laps to go, disaster unfolded, cutting his day short and forcing an early exit from the race. Following a clutch qualifying performance on Saturday, the Discount Ford Mustang fired off on the front row in the second position. After the drop of the green flag, a third lane formed on just the second lap as Cindric occupied the helm of the middle lane. The No. 99 car brought out the yellow flag on Lap 12, allowing a plethora of cars to visit pit road for fuel. The driver of the No. 2 reported that his car was a touch on the snug side, but had no major complaints and restarted in the third position on Lap 17. As the momentum of the pack fluctuated, Cindric finished ninth in the opening Stage and headed to pit road for fresh tires. The race returned green on Lap 67 with Cindric in the seventh position. He slipped outside the top 15 as the third lane lost traction, but a rapid resurgence launched him back to the front of the pack in what eventually became a Team Penske 1-2-3 with Ryan Blaney, Cindric and Joey Logano. The skilled superspeedway racer made a fuel-only pit stop under green on Lap 101 and emerged as the race leader, ultimately claiming his sixth career Stage win at the conclusion of Stage 2. Four new tires were installed on the No. 2 machine and Cindric fired off for the dash to the finish. Leading with less than 10 laps to go, a mega 28-car pileup struck, shuttering the No. 2 team’s chances at victory. He was credited with a 32nd-place finish and sits 29 markers below the elimination line heading into the final race in the Round of 8 – the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. Despite the result, Cindric’s laps-led total marked the seventh-straight superspeedway race that the 26-year-old driver has led double-digit laps. 
   
CINDRIC’S THOUGHTS: “I just got turned at the front of the field. Unfortunately, that’s how Daytona ended for us and I think what that says is we’ve got really fast race cars and great execution. As the leader, I was trying to be as predictable as possible as far as taking pushes and it’s just a real shame. I don’t really feel like doing a whole lot of complaining about what happened or whose fault it is, it doesn’t really matter. It puts us in a must-win situation for the Charlotte Road Course. We’ve brought some exceptionally fast race cars every single race of the playoffs and I cannot understate how proud I am of my race team and we’ll have to bring another one next week.”

RYAN BLANEY No. 12 MENARDS/PENNZOIL FORD MUSTANG
START: 5TH    STAGE ONE: 10TH     STAGE TWO: 8TH  FINISH: 39TH    POINTS: 6TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Ryan Blaney was involved in a multi-car incident coming to the green-and-white checkered flag to end Stage 2 Sunday at Talladega, bringing an end to the No. 12 team’s day in a 39th-place finish. Despite the result, Blaney heads into the final race of the Round of 12 sixth in the standings and 25 points above the cut line. Blaney worked his way through three-and-four-wide battles throughout the opening stage after taking the green flag from fifth as the field managed fuel saving efforts during the first run of the afternoon. After getting the go-ahead to run hard with eight laps to go and enough fuel to make it to the end of the opening 60-lap segment, Blaney battled to gain track position by working the middle and bottom lanes before ultimately coming away with a 10th-place finish in Stage 1. Following a four tire stop and a round of adjustments during the stage caution, the three Team Penske Fords got lined up in the top lane early on in Stage 2 before Blaney was pushed to the lead on lap 81. The Team Penske Mustangs were among the fourth and final group of cars to hit pit road for fuel only with 21 laps remaining in the stage as Blaney blended back onto the track scored fifth in the running order. With 15 to go, Blaney moved up to lead the top lane’s charge to the front with teammate Austin Cindric pushing the duo to the front. As the field made its way off turn four on the final lap of the stage, Blaney was shuffled into the middle lane as they came through the tri-oval when the No. 48 made a run to his bumper, resulting in contact that set off a multi-car incident as Blaney was sent into the outside wall as he crossed the start-finish line. The Menards/Pennzoil Ford suffered significant right-front damage that culminated in an early end to the final superspeedway race of the season.

BLANEY’S THOUGHTS: “I thought Austin [Cindric] and I worked well together. I had a feeling that [Kyle Busch] would pull out and help Chevy. He wasn’t going to help me, obviously, so we got in the middle. I didn’t think it was terrible. We were probably still going to run fifth or sixth, and then I just got drove straight through in the tri-oval. We didn’t get very good stage points, so we’ll just see where it is at the end of it.”

JOEY LOGANO No. 22 SHELL-PENNZOIL FORD MUSTANG
START: 6TH     STAGE ONE: 17TH    STAGE TWO: 13TH  FINISH: 33RD   POINTS: 9TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Joey Logano was among those battling for the win Sunday at Talladega when a 28-car incident unraveled with five laps to go that collected the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang, resulting in a 33rd-place finish. With the result, Logano heads into the final race of the Round of 12 ninth in the standings and 13 points below the cut line. After starting sixth, Logano worked the bottom and top lanes as the field managed fuel conservation throughout the opening stage. As four-wide battles began to form with under 25 to go, Logano moved to the bottom lane in an effort to pick up some track position before ultimately crossing the line 17th at the end of Stage 1. Following a four-tire stop at the stage break, Logano lined up to restart ninth as the Team Penske Fords quickly made the move to line up together in the top lane and made their way to the front early on in the second segment. All three Team Penske Mustangs were among the fourth group of cars to pit under green for fuel only with 21 laps to go in Stage 2 as Logano blended back onto the racing surface scored ninth. With Logano running the top lane coming to the green-and-white checkered flag to end Stage 2, a multi-car incident at the start-finish line resulted in nose damage to the Shell-Pennzoil Ford that required a pair of trips to pit road under caution as the 22 team made repairs prior to the start of the final segment. After taking the green flag from 34th, Logano raced his way to the lead on lap 137 as he began to manage the three lanes in his rearview mirror. With one more trip to pit road needed to make it to the end on fuel, Logano was brought to pit road with 17 laps to go before rejoining the field as third car in line on the bottom lane. Logano maintained his track position as the Fords controlled the inside lane with five laps to go, but a strong run resulted in a wreck at the front of the field that collected a record 28 cars and sent Logano sliding into the inside wall with significant front-end damage. Before the red flag was displayed, Logano attempted to get the Shell-Pennzoil Mustang rolling but the damage was ultimately deemed terminal which signaled the end of his run for a fourth Talladega victory. 

LOGANO’S THOUGHTS: “Everyone was just shoving each other. It’s what you expect coming down to the end of the race. It kind of felt like we were in such a good spot though with [Brad Keselowski], [Austin Cindric], myself, [Harrison Burton]. I was not in the position to win the race where I was, but I felt like I was in a good enough spot to where I could get a top-five and if they started crossing each other up coming to the checkered I was on the bottom and things were going to work fairly well for us. I actually thought the bottom was the safest place to be, but [Cindric] got sideways and there I was. It’s not anybody’s fault. It’s just the product of the racing that we’ve got. Everyone is getting more and more aggressive as the laps wind down and it happens. It happens a lot.”

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to the ROVAL at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the third and final race of the Round of 12 on Sunday, October 13. Coverage of the Bank of America ROVAL 400 begins at 2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.