Back in February, 25-year-old Austin Cindric would’ve dreamt of his 2024 Cup Series season going better than it has. Driving the #2 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Team Penske he has secured just a single top-10 finish after 13 races. Seeing past the end results, the devil’s advocate would point to the exemplary stage performances (6 top-10s and 2 wins) that he has produced.
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The blurts of speed that he showcased have justifiably instilled confidence in Cindric’s heart. In a recent conversation with the YouTube channel “Beating and Banging”, he reflected on his mindset halfway through the regular season. First off, he admitted that it was the finishing position that mattered at the end of the day and the prospect of winning races is what got him out of bed everyday.
He continued to note that his team, despite its young average age, has progressed at a level that he is proud of. “I’ve been very proud of the effort thus far. Kind of just trusting the process and not being afraid to fail in some instances,” he said. He reasoned not having end results towards the nature of racing. His contention was that running midpack can get a car into situations that halt good end results.
Cindric concluded, “I’ve been way more encouraged by what my team has shown me and what I’ve been able to step up on my own side of things. So, I’m encouraged but not satisfied. That’s for sure.” The last and only time he won a Cup Series race was in the 2022 Daytona 500. His next chance to collect maximum points will come at the Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 26.
Austin Cindric looks up to Kyle Larson with the dream of contesting in the Indy 500 someday
Cindric is a driver with close ties to the Indianapolis 500. His grandfather, Jim Trueman, was a Indy 500 winning-car owner and his father, Tim Cindric, is the president of Team Penske. Being someone who has witnessed the iconic event in person for many years, Cindric naturally has the desire to be a part of it someday. And the person whom he hopes to mimic is Kyle Larson.
“It’s a special race. It’s tradition for me and my family, and in a lot of ways it’s hard to describe something that you’ve done your entire life leading up to a certain point, and having to kind of watch it from afar is definitely strange,” he told CBS Sports in a recent interview. With Larson set to make his debut in the event this month, Cindric considers him the perfect case study.
He continued, “Although Kyle and I are probably pretty different drivers with different experiences, the one thing I can say that I share with him is there’s a certain level of skill that it takes to run in the Cup Series and to be in that field. To try and understand the skill sets that he can carry over will certainly be interesting.” For now, however, his sights will be on the Coca-Cola 600 finish line.
