Austin Cindric silencing doubters with strong start to NASCAR playoffs

Austin Cindric was thought by most to be an easy first-round exit in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, but the 2022 Daytona 500 winner is proving his critics wrong through the first two weeks of the postseason. 

Tenth-place runs at both Atlanta and Watkins Glen, along with stage points, have helped Cindric make his way up to third on the playoff grid and 43 points above the cut line as the circuit heads to Bristol. 

Cindric's surprisingly good start is a welcome sign for a No. 2 team that has struggled for much of 2024. 

Aside from his win in St. Louis, Cindric only had two other top-10 finishes before the playoffs began — a fourth-place run at Atlanta in February, and a seventh-place finish in his first Brickyard 400. 

His timely victory in St. Louis remained the deciding factor in Cindric making the playoffs, but he and the No. 2 team are proving that they're more than postseason pushovers. 

After Cindric's win in St. Louis on June 2, Team Penske executive Walter Czarnecki spoke about Cindric's performance in the Cup Series, and why the team hasn't given up on him despite an inconsistent start to his career. 

"He has not lost his desire," Czarnecki said on that June afternoon when Cindric locked himself into the playoffs. "We've never lost faith in Austin Cindric, I can promise you that."