WATKINS GLEN, NY.: An accomplished road course racer, Austin Cindric picked up his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at Watkins Glen International in 2019, the last time the series raced at the 2.45-mile road course.
Four of Cindric’s 12 career wins have come at road courses, but all four of his 2021 victories have come at ovals—Daytona, Phoenix, Dover and Pocono. There’s a strong possibility that could change in Saturday’s Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey 200 (4 p.m. ET on CNBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Between his victory at The Glen in 2019 and Saturday’s return, Cindric has posted 11 wins and captured the series championship with a victory in the season finale at Phoenix last year.
“I’ve thought about it, because we didn’t have the race last season, and obviously the last time we were there, I won the race, and it was my first win in the Xfinity Series,” says Cindric, who will start from the outside of the front row next to polesitter Justin Allgaier. “And to think how far I’ve come as a driver in that amount of time is pretty incredible, and I’ve got a lot of the same guys around me.
“It’s going to be fun to kind of show up there knowing what we did the last time, but it’s still the same challenge. That’s not going to make it any easier, I can promise you that, but it’s a fun race track. It’s a great track to have on the schedule, and I know there’s always a great fan base that shows up at that place, so looking forward to going back.”
If Cindric, the current series leader, is comfortably in a Playoff position this season, drivers on the bubble by definition are not. With seven races left in the regular season, Michael Annett currently holds the last of 12 Playoff-eligible position by 32 points over Riley Herbst 41 points over Brandon Brown.
Annett missed the last two Xfinity races after suffering a stress fracture in his right femur, which has been surgically repaired. After recovering during the Olympic break, the driver of the No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet has been cleared to race at Watkins Glen.
Annett also retained his Playoff eligibility, thanks to a medical waiver from NASCAR.
Source: Reid Spencer / NASCAR Wire Service
