Austin Cindric Thinks Closing Point Deficit 'Not Out of The Question'

As Team Penske looks to secure its fourth consecutive championship in the NASCAR Cup Series, Austin Cindric, driver of the organization's iconic No. 2 Ford Mustang Dark Horse, may be the most underrated bullet in the team's chamber.

With that being said, it's not that difficult to be "underrated" when your teammates are Joey Logano (a three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion) and Ryan Blaney (a NASCAR Cup Series champion and one of the strongest talents at NASCAR's top-level).

Cindric finds himself still in the running for the NASCAR Cup Series title as the series heads to Kansas Speedway this weekend, after narrowly avoiding elimination at Bristol Motor Speedway. The Mooresville, North Carolina-native had a rocker box fire in the closing laps of the Bass Pro Shops Night Race, but thanks to a plan put in place by the team, the No. 2 was able to return to the racetrack and salvage enough points to advance through to the “Round of 12”.

It was already going to be an uphill battle to move any further in the post-season, considering his lack of Playoff Points, but after a difficult opening race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the hill to climb to move through has gotten even steeper.

Cindric travels to Kansas Speedway with a 19-point deficit to the cutline. On a weekend at New Hampshire, where all of Team Penske had incredible speed, Cindric and Brian Wilson just couldn’t get things right to fight for the victory with them. That puts them in a tough position.

“I definitely view it as a missed opportunity in a few ways,” Cindric admitted. “It starts in qualifying. A lot of that was on me, just not getting the lap. I got a little impatient exiting a lap that would have been pretty strong.”

With a subpar run at the 1.018-mile New England short track, Cindric is now forced to turn his attention to Kansas Speedway, with a gap that the 27-year-old driver thinks is very manageable throughout the next two events.

“Should I be desperate? “19 points is totally not out of the question, especially in two-race events. We’ve got nothing to lose and everything to go out and gain. “My word going into the playoffs was that I wanted to be invisible for the first two rounds,” Cindric explained. “Being on fire in Bristol wasn’t exactly that, but past that, I think that’s still the goal — to stay clean, stay solid, and keep climbing.”

If Cindric can achieve that goal, then he might find himself in position to advance to the semi-finals of the post-season when the checkered flag drops at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL in two weeks time.

“If we achieve our maximum as a group — or even close to it — I feel like we’ll find ourselves in a favorable position to keep fighting for a championship," he added.

While the Team Penske driver is a talented road course racer, the organization hasn’t had a lot of success as of late when it comes to the non-oval tracks. With the final race of the round at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL, that could offer some concerns for the driver.

“It’s actually probably been one of the weakest areas for me this year,” Cindric admitted. “The new tire we started running at road courses has been a big adjustment. I’ve struggled to figure out what’s best for making lap time.”

No matter what, it’s going to be an uphill climb for Cindric to advance further than the ‘Round of 12’, but if the driver of the No. 2 Ford Mustang Dark Horse can summon some of that Team Penske magic, then it could be a fruitful end of the campaign for the former NASCAR Xfinity Series champion – one that could result in deja-vu to hoisting a championship trophy in Phoenix.

The Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas will take place Sunday, September 28 at 3:00 PM ET on USA Network, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.