Austin Cindric, the reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series champion, will be attempting to make his first Daytona 500. The Team Penske driver will be defending his 2020 Xfinity title when the year starts, but will be making several NASCAR Cup Series starts this season in anticipation of moving into the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford next year.
The 22-year-old will drive the No. 33 Ford Mustang out of the Team Penske stable in the Daytona 500. He does not have a guaranteed starting position in the race and must race his way onto the grid with a good finish in the BlueGreen Vacations Duel 150s.
“I think anyone who makes plans at superspeedways, do it because they’re nervous because there’s no way to prepare for these races,” said Austin Cindric. “There’s no way to prepare for those scenarios. Qualifying is significantly important for both of our opportunities to make it into the race, but also where we start in the Duels. I think we’ll play it as it goes. I’d be extremely unlucky if I didn’t have a Penske-affiliated car with me in the Duels, so that would be nice to have and nice to have teammates.
“If I get in the race, hopefully, I can help those guys get stage points and try and fight for a race win and get a Penske car and a Ford into Victory Lane for the Daytona 500. There’s a lot of work to still do, but there are definitely a lot of different scenarios and a lot of things you have to prepare for and sometimes it will come down to the small details and hopefully, it doesn’t have to come down to missing big wrecks and the things you’re accustomed to seeing in speedway racing, but you definitely have to be prepared for.”
Source: Holly Cain | NASCAR Wire Service
