BROOKLYN, Mich. – Brad Keselowski Racing (BRK) rookie driver Austin Cindric will admit that his first three races of the 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) hadn’t gone to plan.
Plagued by crashes, bad luck and even some rookie mistakes, Cindric has since risen above his rookie woes and stayed content with his duties aboard the No. 19 Ford for BKR.
While Cindric emerged from the back of the pack with a 10th place finish at Kansas Speedway in May, the current summer stretch has allowed Cindric, the son of Team Penske president Tim Cindric to showcase his potential.
Still winless through 12 races, Cindric does, however, boast the strength of four top-10 finishes and five straight top-11 runs entering Saturday afternoon’s LTi Printing at Michigan International Speedway.
“I feel really excited about these next few races because honestly the last handful of events I feel like we’ve really optimized the situation that we’re in, whether it’s the speed that our vehicle has our the setup, I feel like Doug and I have done an awesome job of working together and understanding what each of us needs from each other,” said Cindric.
“That comes with time and that’s something you talk about at the beginning of the season, how you and your crew chief are gonna work well together, but I feel like the more runs we get – take Pocono for example. We have a blown tire in first practice and have to go to a backup and don’t get a lap in the backup.
“We put a bunch of adjustability in the truck and we ended up finishing seventh in a truck that never turned a lap and is several generations older than what we had been running before, so I feel like if we have more races like that we’re going to be running up front and we’re gonna win races.”
Just four races remain before the Truck Series playoffs see the green flag and according to the 18-year-old Cindric, the upcoming venues couldn’t have come at a better time.
Likely needing a win to see himself join his BKR teammate Chase Briscoe (currently safely secured by points position), Cindric is the likely favorite for the upcoming Truck race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Sept. 3.
Road course or not, Cindric knows he’s running out of time when it comes to post-season hopes and may have to do what is necessary to assure his presence is in the seven-race playoff hunt.
“If you’re going for a win and you need a win to get in the playoffs, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do,” added Cindric. “I feel like everybody feels that way. If I was running first and these two guys were running right behind me, I don’t feel like they would give me slack, so I feel like it would be the same way.
“I think the playoffs make it incredibly important to win races and the position I’m in and the position Ben is in as well, a win is gonna solidify our hopes at a championship, whereas I’m 50 or 60 back and I can maybe make it on points, but a win makes it a lot easier on my team.”
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
