7 days agoTeam Penske's Austin Cindric will start 14th for the Shriners Children's 500 at Phoenix Raceway. It will be the fourth time that Cindric will start a race at the Arizona track inside the top 15. In six previous starts at Phoenix, Cindric has two top-20 finishes and only scored positive Place Differential once. In practice, Cindric ranked 13th in overall lap averages while displaying top-10 speeds in the 10, 15, 20, and 25 consecutive lap average categories. Although Cindric's practice speeds are an encouraging sign of a quality finish, especially with top-notch Team Penske equipment, his track history at Phoenix has not been great and makes him a risk to add to lineups. As a result, Cindric is best utilized as a tournament play for this week's race at Phoenix.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
2 weeks agoAustin Cindric will start 36th on Sunday's Echopark Texas Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. This is the lowest starting position for Cindric in his Cup career at a road course. At COTA in four races, Cindric has two top-10 finishes and has led three different Cup events. Since 2022 at road courses outside of Chicago, Cindric has been great on the road courses by nabbing 11 top-20 finishes in 15 events. Cindric ranked sixth in single lap times in first practice and qualified toward the back of the field this week. The No. 2 Ford driver is a must-start for cash games based on his upside alone, even without acknowledging his proficiency in road course racing. Expect Cindric to be one of the higher-rostered drivers this week, but he is one of the most straightforward recommendations for all lineup formats.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
3 weeks agoDon't be surprised if Austin Cindric is a contender once again at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend. The Team Penske driver led a combined 124 laps in the two races here last season, grabbing two Stage victories along the way. He is also on a five-race streak of finishes of 12th or better at this track, and qualified on the outside pole for Sunday's Ambetter Health 400. Now the question becomes, what should you do with Cindric in DFS? If he can put on a dominating performance and lead laps once again this weekend like he did last summer, Cindric could be a very solid pick at $9,000 on DraftKings. However, the high starting position (second) means that he needs to get those laps led and also finish inside the top 10 to have a shot at making the optimal lineup. The potential is there on both sides for Cindric this weekend. Which side will you choose to be on?
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Driver Averages
4 weeks agoAustin Cindric probably had the best run in Sunday's Daytona 500, leading 59 laps, spending 145 laps in the top five, and posting an average running position of 5.72, each of which led the field. Although it looked like his teammate Joey Logano had the measure of him in Stage 1, Cindric took charge in Stage 2 and took the lead from Denny Hamlin at the end of regulation on the first lap of the overtime restart, which ended the race. However, he lost his chance to win when Chase Briscoe bumped Cole Custer into Hamlin. Although Cindric barely crashed at all, the slight contact he did make significantly broke his momentum and he was relegated to an eighth-place finish. Nonetheless, Cindric continues to be one of the best drafters in the NASCAR Cup Series and he is currently tied with Tyler Reddick for fourth in points.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
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