In only his 8th career NASCAR Cup Series start, Austin Cindric, a 23-year-old rookie who drives for Roger Penske held off a hard-charging Ryan Blaney, Bubba Wallace & Chase Briscoe at the finish line to claim the checkered flag at the Daytona 500.
A two-lap shootout would stage the finish after Ricky Stenhouse Jr. crashed after getting strong contact from Brad Keselowski at the exit of Turn 4, turning his No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet. Bubba Wallace was hit by Stenhouse during the crash, obtaining damage to the right-front of the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota.
On the final restart, Cindric blocked teammate Ryan Blaney on the outside out of Turn 4 coming to the checkered flag. Blaney made contact with Cindric and went into the outside wall, allowing Cindric to slightly edge ahead of Bubba Wallace and earning his first career Cup Series victory in the Great American Race.
“What makes it all better is a packed house at the Daytona 500,” Cindric told Fox Sports reporter Jamie Little. “I’ve got so many people to thank. First of foremost, Roger Penske. Happy birthday! Oh my gosh. I appreciate Ryan being a great teammate, I know he wants to win this one.”
Daytona 500 Results:
Austin Cindric
Bubba Wallace
Chase Briscoe
Ryan Blaney
Aric Almirola
Kyle Busch
Michael McDowell
David Ragan
Brad Keselowski
Chase Elliott
Ty Dillon
Daniel Hemric
Martin Truex Jr.
Corey LaJoie
Landon Cassill
Chris Buescher
Cody Ware
Daniel Suarez
Kurt Busch
Cole Custer
Joey Logano
Jacques Villeneuve
Justin Haley
Alex Bowman
Austin Dillon
Kaz Grala
BJ McLeod
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Erik Jones
Kevin Harvick
Noah Gragson
Kyle Larson
Todd Gilliland
Christopher Bell
Tyler Reddick
Greg Biffle
Denny Hamlin
William Byron Jr.
Harrison Burton
Ross Chastain
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