Austin Cindric

Austin Louis Cindric (born September 2, 1998) is an American professional auto racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 2 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Team Penske. He also competes part-time in the Supercars Championship, driving the No. 5 Ford Mustang S650 for Tickford Racing.

Prior to competing in stock cars, Cindric raced in a variety of disciplines, including sports cars, the Road to Indy ladder, and the Global RallyCross Championship. His first NASCAR start came in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2015, and he finished third in that series' standings in 2017 before moving up to the Xfinity Series. He won the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship and the 2022 Daytona 500.

Racing career Early career Cindric started his career in semi-professional legends car and Bandolero racing in North Carolina. After attending the Skip Barber Racing School to gain road racing experience, in 2013 and 2014, he raced in the U.S. F2000 National Championship. In 2013, he finished seventeenth in points, driving for Andretti Autosport with a best finish of seventh in the season finale. In 2014, he switched teams to Pabst Racing Services, finishing fourteenth in points with a second-place podium finish on the oval at Lucas Oil Raceway. He also competed in Historic Sportscar Racing, winning a race in a Porsche 944.

In 2014, Cindric began competing in the Global RallyCross Championship Lites, winning the bronze medal at his debut, the X Games Austin 2014.

Sports car racing In October 2014, Cindric made his IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge debut for Racers Edge Motorsports at Road Atlanta with David Levine as co-driver, finishing seventeenth. In 2015, at the age of seventeen, Cindric competed in the Bathurst 12 Hour, the youngest driver to compete in the event, driving the No. 63 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG for Erebus Motorsport; He began competing full-time in the CTSCC in 2015, driving for Multimatic Motorsports with Jade Buford as co-driver.

In 2016, Cindric drove the No. 6 McLaren for K-PAX Racing in the Pirelli World Challenge.

Stock car racing Regional and Camping World Truck Series Cindric's No. 19 Draw-Tite Ford F-150 at the Brad Keselowski Racing shop In July 2015, Cindric made his ARCA Racing Series debut at the #ThisIsMySpeedway 150 at Iowa Speedway, driving the No. 99 for Cunningham Motorsports; Cindric started and finished fourth in the race. He made his NASCAR debut in the Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 29 Ford F-150 for Brad Keselowski Racing at Martinsville as a substitute for Austin Theriault, who was still recovering from his injury at Las Vegas.

In addition to his Pirelli World Challenge schedule in 2016, he joined Martin-McClure Racing for two K&N Pro Series East events and Brad Keselowski Racing in the No. 2 F-150 at Dover International Speedway. His two K&N East starts resulted in victories at Virginia International Raceway and Watkins Glen International. That October, Cindric made his restrictor track debut at Talladega, finishing 20th. In November 2016, BKR announced that Cindric would compete full-time in the Truck Series in 2017.

During the 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season, he grabbed the pole for the season's lone road course race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Although he led the most laps that day, differing strategies saw Cindric behind Kaz Grala on the last lap. Cindric, on newer tires, made contact with Grala, causing the No. 33 to spin. Cindric went on to win and claim a playoff berth in team Brad Keselowski Racing's final season. Grala claimed that he got run over, but Cindric marginalized his maneuver by calling it a "last resort" and claiming that it was justified by the need for a playoff spot. The move drew widespread criticism from other drivers, including Justin Allgaier and Christopher Bell. A week after the Mosport incident, Cindric made a Global Rallycross start in which he collided with Scott Speed coming out of a joker lap. That led to a verbal confrontation with Speed afterwards and again drew the ire of the NASCAR community on social media.

Xfinity Series

In August 2017, Cindric joined Team Penske's No. 22 car for the Xfinity Series race at Road America.

In 2018, Cindric ran the full Xfinity schedule, splitting time between three different Ford Mustangs: Penske's No. 12 and No. 22 Fords, and the No. 60 Ford of Roush Fenway Racing. Cindric got his first pole at Iowa in the season's fourteenth race, where his No. 22 car had a history of success, though he faded back to eleventh in the race after finishing second in the first stage. He was involved in a violent crash in the Daytona race, in which he barrel-rolled twice in turn 2. In Cindric's last ride with the No. 60 Roush Fenway car at Darlington, he was turned by Ryan Truex exiting turn four on the third lap and spun out, resulting in a 40th-place finish. The car, split between Cindric, Chase Briscoe, and Ty Majeski, attracted notoriety during the season for being involved in numerous accidents, ending the year with 28: 22 brought out a caution flag, six spins that did not produce a caution, and four wrecks during practice or qualifying.

On November 8, 2018, Team Penske announced that Cindric would compete full-time in their No. 22 Ford Mustang in 2019. MoneyLion was the primary sponsor for eighteen races, part of a multi-year deal with the team.

In August 2019, Cindric scored his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series wins with back-to-back road course victories at Watkins Glen and Mid-Ohio. He finished the 2019 season sixth in points after finishing seventh at Homestead.

Cindric scored his first oval victories in July 2020 at Kentucky Speedway, where he swept the weekend's Xfinity races Shady Rays 200 and Alsco 300. He was the first driver to win national series races at the same track on two consecutive days since Richard Petty in 1971. The victories began a seven-race stretch in which he won or finished second, including his third straight win at Texas Motor Speedway after Kyle Busch's disqualification and back-to-back road course victories at Road America and the Daytona road course. He won the regular season championship with a tenth-place finish in the finale at Richmond and entered the playoffs with five wins. Cindric won at Phoenix to win the championship. Cindric also led the non-playoff points standings and led all drivers in top fives (nineteen) and top tens (26).

Cindric would return to the No. 22 Ford Mustang in 2021. Cindric took his first win of 2021 at Daytona in February, followed by additional victories at Phoenix, Dover, Pocono, and the Indianapolis Road Course. He led much of the regular season standings but finished runner-up in the regular-season finale at Bristol to A. J. Allmendinger when the two made contact coming to the finish and slid across the line.

Cindric lost the lead and the championship in turn three to Daniel Hemric on the last lap of Phoenix in 2021.

Cup Series During the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series' 2019 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Cindric replaced Brad Keselowski for final practice as Keselowski was experiencing flu-like symptoms. Cindric remained on standby for the race, but Keselowski ran the full event and went on to win. In September, Cindric once again served as a practice substitute driver, this time for Michael McDowell at the Bank of America Roval 400 while McDowell was being treated for a kidney stone.

In October 2020, Team Penske announced Cindric would begin racing in the Cup Series in 2021 on a part-time basis before moving up to the series full-time in 2022 in the Wood Brothers Racing No. 21, replacing Matt DiBenedetto. He would run his part-time schedule in the Cup Series in a part-time fourth car for Penske, the No. 33. Cindric's first Cup Series start came in the 2021 Daytona 500, where he finished fifteenth after being involved in a fiery last-lap crash. He led laps at Circuit of the Americas and Road America, and scored his first Cup top ten at Indianapolis when he finished ninth. The following week, Cindric won the pole at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California and finished 12th. As a result of that finish, Cindric led the points again for two weeks in a row, becoming the second rookie in NASCAR history (after Jimmie Johnson) to lead the NASCAR Cup Series points standings in consecutive weeks. On July 20, crew chief Jeremy Bullins was suspended for four races due to a tire and wheel loss during the 2022 Ambetter 301 at Loudon. Cindric was eliminated in the Round of 12 after finishing 21st at the Charlotte Roval. He finished the season twelfth in the points standings and won the NASCAR Rookie of the Year honors.

Cindric started the 2023 Season with a 23rd-place finish in the 2023 Daytona 500. Cindric would struggle heavily throughout the season, rarely finishing inside the top ten in a race. Cindric would miss the playoffs as a result of his poor performance. After a disappointing season, he would finish 24th in the final point standings and only scored one top-five and five top-ten finishes the whole season.

Cindric started the 2024 season with a 22nd-place finish at the 2024 Daytona 500. He scored his second career win at Gateway after Christopher Bell lost an engine and Ryan Blaney ran out of gas, breaking an 85-race winless streak. He was eliminated from the Round of 12 at the conclusion of the Charlotte Roval race.

Cindric started the 2025 season with an eighth-place finish at the 2025 Daytona 500. Following the COTA race, he was docked 50 driver points and fined 50,000 for right-rear hooking Ty Dillon. Cindric scored his first win of the season at Talladega after beating Ryan Preece by 0.022 to the finish line.

Supercars Championship On September 3, 2025, 7News revealed that Cindric would contest the Supercars Championship finale at Adelaide, competing for Tickford Racing in a wildcard entry.

Personal life Cindric is the son of former Team Penske president Tim Cindric and the grandson of former IndyCar team owner and Red Roof Inn founder Jim Trueman.

Racing record

American Open-Wheel racing results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest race lap)

USF2000 National Championship results Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pos Points 2013 Andretti Autosport SEB24 SEB29 STP23 STP28 LOR22 TOR27 TOR13 MOH12 MOH15 MOH9 LAG20 LAG13 HOU8 HOU7 17th 77 2014 Pabst Racing Services STP11 STP10 BAR9 BAR17 IMS8 IMS21 LOR2 TOR15 TOR18 MOH18 MOH6 MOH6 LAG12 LAG20 14th 125

Stock car career summary Season Series Team Races Wins Top 5 Top 10 Points Position 2015 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Brad Keselowski Racing 2 0 0 0 49 51st ARCA Racing Series Team Penske 2 0 1 1 365 67th 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Brad Keselowski Racing 4 0 0 0 56 36th NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Martin-McClure Racing 2 2 2 2 96 33rd ARCA Racing Series Cunningham Motorsports 4 1 3 4 895 30th 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series Team Penske 1 0 0 0 0 NC† NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Brad Keselowski Racing 23 1 8 16 4032 3rd ARCA Racing Series Cunningham Motorsports 2 0 0 0 305 65th 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series Roush Fenway Racing 9 0 0 0 2231 8th Team Penske 24 0 7 13 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series Team Penske 33 2 14 24 2294 6th 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series Team Penske 33 6 19 29 4040 1st 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Team Penske 7 0 0 1 0 NC† NASCAR Xfinity Series 33 5 22 26 4035 2nd 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Team Penske 36 1 5 9 2226 12th 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Team Penske 36 0 1 5 626 24th 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Team Penske 36 1 4 7 2247 11th 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Team Penske 36 1 2 5 2156 14th † As Cindric was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points.

NASCAR (key) (Bold - Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Cup Series NASCAR Cup Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Pts Ref 2019 Team Penske 2 Ford DAY ATLRL† LVS PHO CAL MAR TEX BRI RCH TAL DOV KAN CLT POC MCH SON CHI DAY KEN NHA POC GLN MCH BRI DAR IND LVS RCH N/A — Front Row Motorsports 34 Ford ROVRL‡ DOV TAL KAN MAR TEX PHO HOM 2021 Team Penske 33 Ford DAY15 DRC HOM LVS PHO ATL22 BRD MAR RCH28 TAL KAN22 DAR DOV COA25 CLT SON NSH POC POC ROA38 ATL NHA GLN IRC9 MCH DAY DAR RCH BRI LVS TAL ROV TEX KAN MAR PHO 46th 01 2022 2 DAY1 CAL12 LVS19 PHO24 ATL32 COA8 RCH20 MAR11 BRD16 TAL21 DOV36 DAR18 KAN11 CLT34 GTW11 SON5 NSH7 ROA7 ATL3 NHA13 POC31 IRC2 MCH37 RCH12 GLN13 DAY3 DAR16 KAN12 BRI20 TEX15 TAL9 ROV21 LVS29 HOM19 MAR26 PHO11 12th 2226 2023 DAY23 CAL28 LVS6 PHO25 ATL11 COA6 RCH28 BRD19 MAR33 TAL26 DOV26 KAN31 DAR19 CLT31 GTW13 SON25 NSH27 CSC6 ATL12 NHA25 POC23 RCH26 MCH12 IRC15 GLN16 DAY37 DAR31 KAN31 BRI32 TEX27 TAL5 ROV25 LVS23 HOM12 MAR9 PHO35 24th 626 2024 DAY22 ATL4 LVS29 PHO36 BRI31 COA18 RCH23 MAR23 TEX25 TAL23 DOV15 KAN37 DAR20 CLT20 GTW1 SON22 IOW30 NHA19 NSH15 CSC15 POC18 IND7 RCH24 MCH28 DAY18 DAR13 ATL10* GLN10 BRI13 KAN34 TAL32* ROV4 LVS34 HOM27 MAR4 PHO13 11th 2247 2025 DAY8* ATL28 COA25 PHO19 LVS6 HOM19 MAR37 DAR11 BRI17 TAL1 TEX25 KAN11 CLT31 NSH18 MCH31 MXC18 POC10 ATL38 CSC27 SON30 DOV16 IND15* IOW12 GLN16 RCH5 DAY39 DAR12 GTW19 BRI30 NHA17 KAN30 ROV36 LVS11 TAL34 MAR15 PHO27 14th 2156 2026 DAY34 ATL26 COA32 PHO34 LVS19 DAR5 MAR8 BRI16 KAN12 TAL8 TEX15 GLN9 CLT38 NSH26 MCH11 POC14 COR22 SON13 CHI13 ATL14 NWS14 IND14 IOW29 RCH3 NHA12 DAY6 DAR GTW BRI KAN LVS CLT PHO TAL MAR HOM -* -* † – Practiced for Brad Keselowski · ‡ – Practiced for Michael McDowell

Daytona 500 Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish 2021 Team Penske Ford 39 15 2022 5 1 2023 6 23 2024 6 22 2025 2 8* 2026 36 34

Xfinity Series NASCAR Xfinity Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 Pts Ref 2017 Team Penske 22 Ford DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL TEX BRI RCH TAL CLT DOV POC MCH IOW DAY KEN NHA IND IOW GLN MOH BRI ROA16 DAR RCH CHI KEN DOV CLT KAN TEX PHO HOM 104th 01 2018 Roush Fenway Racing 60 Ford DAY40 LVS34 PHO16 CAL28 MCH23 DAY33 NHA17 GLN13 DAR40 8th 2231 Team Penske 12 Ford ATL7 TEX9 CLT16 POC4 CHI14 KEN10 BRI14 IND34 22 BRI12 RCH5 TAL30 DOV9 IOW11 IOW18 MOH2* ROA37 LVS9 RCH13 ROV3 DOV8 KAN39 TEX3 PHO4 HOM5 2019 DAY5 ATL10 LVS22 PHO5 CAL6 TEX11 BRI6 RCH2 TAL5 DOV6 CLT9 POC7 MCH11 IOW10 CHI5 DAY4 KEN14 NHA12 IOW37 GLN1 MOH1* BRI5 ROA2 DAR10 IND27 LVS12 RCH2 ROV3 DOV3 KAN25 TEX3 PHO6 HOM7 6th 2294 2020 DAY25 LVS2 CAL3 PHO8 DAR4 CLT3 BRI36 ATL16* HOM2 HOM10 TAL4 POC29 IRC5 KEN1 KEN1* TEX1 KAN2 ROA1* DRC1 DOV2 DOV3 DAY8 DAR12 RCH4 RCH10 BRI3 LVS6 TAL34 ROV6 KAN28 TEX4 MAR10 PHO1 1st 4040 2021 DAY1* DRC2* HOM5* LVS4 PHO1* ATL13 MAR6 TAL2* DAR30 DOV1 COA5 CLT2 MOH14* TEX3 NSH32 POC1* ROA8 ATL10 NHA4 GLN3 IRC1* MCH37 DAY39 DAR3 RCH16 BRI2 LVS4 TAL8 ROV2* TEX5 KAN2* MAR2 PHO2* 2nd 4035

Camping World Truck Series NASCAR Camping World Truck Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Pts Ref 2015 Brad Keselowski Racing 29 Ford DAY ATL MAR KAN CLT DOV TEX GTW IOW KEN ELD POC MCH BRI MSP CHI NHA LVS TAL MAR25 TEX PHO14 HOM 51st 49 2016 2 DAY ATL MAR KAN DOVDNQ CLT TEX IOW GTW KEN ELD POC BRI18 MCH MSP23 CHI NHA LVS TAL20 MAR TEX PHO15 HOM 36th 56 2017 19 DAY27 ATL21 MAR21 KAN10 CLT13 DOV5 TEX25 GTW11 IOW8 KEN4 ELD10 POC7 MCH5 BRI9 MSP1* CHI15 NHA8 LVS4 TAL5 MAR10 TEX2* PHO9 HOM5 3rd 4032

Season still in progress Ineligible for series points

ARCA Racing Series (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.) ARCA Racing Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Pts Ref 2015 Team Penske 99 Ford DAY MOB NSH SLM TAL TOL NJE POC MCH CHI WIN IOW4 IRP POC BLN ISF DSF SLM KEN17 KAN 67th 365 2016 Cunningham Motorsports DAY NSH SLM TAL TOL NJE POC2 MCH MAD WIN IOW IRP POC BLN ISF DSF SLM CHI6 KEN1* KAN2 30th 895 2017 DAY NSH SLM TAL TOL ELK POC MCH MAD IOW IRP23 POC WIN ISF ROA12* DSF SLM CHI KEN KAN 65th 305

K&N Pro Series East NASCAR K&N Pro Series East results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pts Ref 2016 Martin-McClure Racing 39 Toyota NSM MOB GRE BRI VIR1* DOM STA COL NHA IOW GLN1** GRE NJM DOV 33rd 96

Complete Global Rallycross Championship results (key)

Supercar Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 GRC Points 2017 Bryan Herta Rallysport Ford Fiesta ST MEM LOU THO1 THO2 OTT1 OTT2 INDY AC1 AC2 SEA18 SEA24 LA 11th 102

GRC Lites Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Lites Points 2015 Olsbergs MSE Lites Ford Fiesta FTA1 DAY19 DAY21 MCAS5 DET13 DET23 DC8 LA12 LA21 BAR12 BAR21 LV10 2nd 473

Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Class Make Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Rank Points 2017 3GT Racing GTD Lexus RC F GT3 Lexus 5.0 L V8 DAY14 SEB13 LBH AUS BEL WGL6 MOS LIM ELK VIR LGA ATL8 31st 85 2018 JDC-Miller MotorSports P Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 DAY6 SEB LBH MOH BEL WGL MOS ELK LGA ATL 52nd 25 2019 AIM Vasser Sullivan GTD Lexus RC F GT3 Lexus 5.0 L V8 DAY5 SEB MOH BEL WGL MOS LIM ELK VIR LGA ATL 49th 26 2022 Proton USA GTD Pro Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 DAY5 SEB LBH LGA WGL MOS LIM ELK VIR PET 27th 290 2023 Rick Ware Racing LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 DAY6 SEB LGA WGL ELK IMS PET 37th 0 2025 Ford Multimatic Motorsports GTD Pro Ford Mustang GT3 Ford Coyote 5.4 L V8 DAY3 SEB LGA DET WGL MOS ELK VIR IMS PET 26th 335

Supercars Championship results Supercars results Year Team No. Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 Position Points 2025 Tickford Racing 5 Ford Mustang S650 SYDR1 SYDR2 SYDR3 MELR4 MELR5 MELR6 MELR7 TAUR8 TAUR9 TAUR10 SYMR11 SYMR12 SYMR13 BARR14 BARR15 BARR16 HIDR17 HIDR18 HIDR19 TOWR20 TOWR21 TOWR22 QLDR23 QLDR24 QLDR25 BENR26 BATR27 SURR28 SURR29 SANR30 SANR31 ADER3223 ADER3323 ADER3421 32nd 52

Complete Bathurst 12 Hour results Year Team Co-drivers Car Class Laps Overallposition Classposition 2015 Erebus Motorsport Nathan Morcom Simon Hodge Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG AA 251 21st 7th 2016 Erebus Motorsport Maro Engel Bernd Schneider Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG AP 219 DNF DNF