Austin Cindric picked up right where he left off in 2020 – out front and hoisting a trophy. The 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion won the season-opener at the Daytona International Speedway in an overtime thriller last Saturday and is absolutely a favorite to win again when the series returns to the track’s 3.61-mile road course on Saturday for the Super Start Batteries 188 at Daytona Presented by O’Reilly (5 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Cindric has proven to be the reigning road course master of the series – winning four times on four different circuits (Watkins Glen, Mid-Ohio, Road America and Daytona RC). He is the defending Daytona Road Course winner leading 21 of 52 laps there last August.
Not only does the 22-year-old return to Florida this week as defending Xfinity Series race winner, he is coming off a stellar NASCAR Cup Series debut last weekend too – starting 39th and finishing 15th in his very first Daytona 500.
With his win in the Xfinity Series opener last Saturday, Cindric said he’s checked an important box.
“One of my extracurricular goals for the year was to win on a superspeedway,” Cindric said. “To get that knocked out early was really satisfying. It is a different discipline. To be able to control the race, how we did and the speed in our car, I was really proud of that effort. We haven’t had that kind of speed at speedways in the past. It shows the effort my guys have put in during the off-season. We keep stepping up both individually and as a group. Nothing is guaranteed though, so it is back to work.”
He will have plenty of legitimate competition in this weekend’s field. Veteran A.J. Allmendinger, a former IndyCar racer, is always a favorite on road courses. He won at the Charlotte ROVAL last year and is now competing fulltime in the series driving the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet.
Other road course “ringers” include former NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year and IMSA winner Andy Lally, who finished fifth at the Daytona road course in 2020. Road course stars Miguel Paludo and Preston Pardus are also entered.
The starting lineup for Saturday’s race includes a front row of Brett Moffitt – a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series road course winner – and Austin Cindric.[table=3564]
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Next Race: Super Start Batteries 188 At Daytona Presented by O’Reilly
The Place: Daytona Road Course
The Date: Saturday, February 20
The Time: 5 p.m. ET
TV: FS1, 4:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 187.72 miles (52 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 15),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 30), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 52)
What To Watch For: A total of 38 different drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Daytona Road Course. … Drivers Earl Bamber and Harold Crooms made their first career NASCAR Xfinity Series start at the Daytona Road Course in 2020. … Team Penske’s Austin Cindric won the inaugural NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Daytona Road Course on August 15, 2020. … Marcos Ambrose leads the NASCAR Xfinity Series in overall road course wins with five (Watkins Glen, four and Montreal, one). … NASCAR Hall of Famer Terry Labonte and Marcos Ambrose hold the series record for the most wins at a single road course track with four victories each and both were at Watkins glen International. … Four active drivers have won at least one race on a road course in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. … Austin Cindric and AJ Allmendinger lead all active drivers in NASCAR Xfinity Series road course wins with four victories each. … A total of six different NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers have led at least one lap at the Daytona Road Course. … Chase Briscoe leads the NASCAR Xfinity Series in laps led at the Daytona Road Course with 26 laps led; followed by Austin Cindric with 21. … The margin of victory in the first NASCAR Cup Series race at the Daytona Road Course was 7.108-seconds.
– Holly Cain/NASCAR Wire Service
