Austin Cindric

27-Year-Old Driver

Penske Racing

2026 Cup Stats

Points

226

Starts

Wins

Poles

Top 5

Top 10

2026 Fantasy Outlook

Cindric scratched the win column at Talladega last season for his third-career Cup Series victory. However, outside of that superspeedway win it would be a pretty lean campaign for the driver of the No. 2 Penske Racing Ford. Cindric would manage just five Top 10's during the entire season and he'd witness his average finish balloon to 20.9. The victory would put him in the playoffs for a second-straight season, but his lack of performance would once again lead to an early exit from the postseason. Now 27-years-old and with over 150 Cup starts to his credit, Cindric is not viewed as a young driver anymore. With him failing to live up to the performance levels of his teammates, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney, we frankly worry about his longevity with this team. Cindric is good through 2026 contractually, but his seat has to be growing warmer by the day. The pressure to perform is definitely on. Read Past Outlooks

Car No. 2 Ford

Crew Chief Brian Wilson

Rookie Year 2017

Birth Date 9/2/1998

Born Mooresville, North Carolina, United States

Country UNITED STATES

Overcomes issues at Talladega

NASCAR Cup

April 27, 2026

Cindric struggled early, but brought the No. 2 car home in eighth place in Sunday's Jack Link's 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway.

ANALYSIS
Early in Sunday's race, Cindric missed his pit stall after entering pit road three-wide, but he was able to get the free pass after Stage 2, putting him back on the lead lap. He steadily moved forward from there on his way to an eighth-place finish. After finishing 26th or worse in each of the season's first four races, Cindric now has six Top 20s in a row heading into the next race at Texas Motor Speedway, where the No. 2 car led 60 laps last year but was involved in a late accident, finishing 25th.

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Racing Stats

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Track Stats

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Past Fantasy Outlooks

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

This is a make-or-break season for Cindric in 2024. The young driver is coming off his second campaign in Roger Penske's No. 2 Ford and it did not measure up to Penske standards by any stretch of the imagination. Cindric failed to make the Chase playoffs and only collected five Top-10 finishes throughout the 2023 season. It all added up to a disappointing 24th-place finish in the final driver standings for Cindric and the No. 2 team. These developments are quite concerning considering that his teammate at Penske, Ryan Blaney, won three races and took last season's Cup Series championship. The pressure will be on to rebound in the upcoming season. This is a contract year for Cindric and he'll have all the motivation he needs to perform. Brian Wilson returns at crew chief and the two will look to resurrect the No. 2 Ford team to its former glory and prestige. Improvement is a given, although we're not convinced it will be by any means dramatic.

You couldn't start a season better than Cindric did in 2022. The Penske Racing rookie grabbed an upset victory in last season's Daytona 500 to kick off his rookie campaign. After that, it was a mix of highs and lows that would ultimately lead Cindric to nine Top-10 finishes and a 12th-place rank in the final driver standings. It was a bit of overachievement considering that the young driver only cracked the Top 10 once in the 10 races of the Chase playoffs. The No. 2 Ford team looks to be returning completely intact with Jeremy Bullins still calling the shots as crew chief. Cindric's inconsistent end to last season is a bit concerning moving forward. His 16.3 average finish is something that has to improve in 2023 or he won't be able to climb these rankings much higher. Right now, Cindric is unquestionably the third-best driver in this three-driver Penske Racing camp.

The 2020 Xfinity Series champion will take over the iconic No. 2 Ford of Penske Racing in the upcoming season and go to work on potential Rookie of the Year campaign. It's going to be a big step for the talented youngster. Filling the shoes of Brad Keselowski is no easy task. There will be a lot of expectations and associated pressure with this promotion. For a 23-year-old rookie to take over a flagship ride is never easy. Fortunately, Cindric got in seven Cup Series starts last year and that will help with his transition. He showed some flashes of ability in those starts, and the experience will help in 2022. Cindric will be paired with crew chief Jeremy Bullins and the two will look to quickly figure out the new Next-Gen car and get to work on some good finishes. It will be an up-and-down typical rookie season for sure, but Cindric should have the inside track on winning the ROTY award in the upcoming season.

The 2020 Xfinity Series champion will return to defend his title in 2021. The Penske Racing star built on a very good 2019 campaign and drove to six wins and 26 Top-10 finishes last season to claim the Xfinity Series crown. Cindric will once again drive the strong No. 22 Ford and the team will return all major parts, including crew chief Brian Wilson. The 22-year-old driver proved himself to be a strong driver, and very gifted at the road circuits. Cindric collected two of his six victories on those challenging courses. With NASCAR doing even more racing on these style tracks in the upcoming season, it only adds to the value that this driver and team bring to the table. Cindric should challenge to equal or exceed the six wins he posted last season, and will once again be a top contender to win the championship.

Cindric was the most improved driver of last season's second half. After a slow start in the Penske Racing No. 22 Ford, the young driver came on strong and posted three pole positions and two victories in the final half of 2019. While Cindric didn't race for the championship at Homestead, he still finished a respectable fifth-place in the driver points. The 14 Top-5 and 24 Top-10 finish campaign was a good salvage job to a slow start to last season. Cindric will now take what he's learned in 67-career starts in this division of NASCAR and apply it in the upcoming season. He'll once again be paired with Brian Wilson and resume the good work they started last season. We should see an increase in wins and Top 5 totals. The youngster will give Justin Allgaier a good run for the money in the championship chase.

Cindric gets a major upgrade in status for 2019. He takes over the full-time driving duties for the strong No. 22 Ford of Penske Racing. This is the car that has been piloted by multi-driver Cup stars over the last several seasons. Last season alone this team accounted for six victories, 19 Top-5 and 25 Top-10 finishes between its five-driver lineup. Cindric nabbed six Top-5 and nine Top-10 finishes of that overall performance. He'll have to step up his game in the upcoming season, and we believe he will. Cindric is taking over one of the most elite teams in the Xfinity Series garage. After finishing eighth in the final driver standings last year, racing for multiple teams, the consistency of showing up each week in the No. 22 Ford Mustang will do wonders.

With the closure of Brad Keselowski's truck series operation, Briscoe and Cindric became two very good young drivers in search of a ride. Roush Fenway Racing stepped in and revived their No. 60 team in an opportunistic situation. This team was named Ford's development driver team, and the two truck series aces will head up the effort. Majeski is a 23-year-old product of kart racing and late model stocks. He made three starts for this team in 2017, and collected a Top-10 finish in the season finale at Homestead. The driver distribution for this team has yet to be announced, but we can only imagine it will be a heavy dose of Cindric and Briscoe, followed by a lesser dose of Majeski. This team should be pretty competitive given the talent behind the wheel.

Cindric replaces Daniel Hemric in the No. 19 Ford F-150 this season. The 18-year-old from Columbus, Ohio has just six-combined truck series starts over the last two years. Cindric's NASCAR experience is limited and spread all over the lower divisions of the sport. So this will be a baptism by fire as he takes on his first full schedule in a national touring series. Veteran crew chief Doug Randolph will help ease this transition and bend this sharp learning curve just a bit. Hemric posted 11 Top-5 and 17 Top-10 finishes in this truck last season en route to a strong sixth-place finish in the driver standings. We don't believe Cindric will have this ability right out of the gate, but he could grow to that level of performance in time.

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Second Consecutive Top 10

NASCAR Cup

March 30, 2026

Cindric scored his second Top 10 of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season with an eighth-place finish in Sunday's Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway.