Austin Cindric wishes he 'would have had at least a shot at' Kansas win

Austin Cindric's best drive of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season came at the perfect time. 

In one of the best performances of his career, the 28-year-old got to the front early in Sunday's Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway and stayed there all afternoon, finishing runner-up to Kyle Larson after Chase Briscoe got into the wall late and gave up second. 

Sunday marks just the third top five and eighth top 10 of the season for Cindric and the No. 2 team, who were consistent enough to make the Chase and certainly weren't thought of as championship contenders. 

They're still not thought of as such after Sunday — Cindric in 10th in the standings and 140 points adrift of Larson for the lead — but Sunday's race was proof that the No. 2 team is capable of running with the top dogs on occasion. 

Austin Cindric wished for just a chance to win at Kansas

"Obviously it was a hell of a race for the win there," Cindric told USA Network. "Overall happy with the performance and the speed. I mean, it’s one of the best race cars I’ve driven. It was a ton of fun today. Our guys came really well prepared.

"When you only lose by half a second, I wish I would have had at least a shot at it. I felt like we could have at least joined the fun at least. But, no, proud of the effort and great points for today."

Sunday's run should inspire more confidence in the No. 2 team for the rest of the Chase, which will feature three more 1.5-mile tracks in Las Vegas, Charlotte and Homestead. Cindric will need similar performances to Sunday over the final six races of the season to be in the title conversation.