It’s been another year of steady improvement for Austin Cindric in the No. 2 car, who enters the 2025 with as much potential as ever.
Photo: Dominic Aragon/TRE
Cindric got his third career NASCAR Cup Series victory at Talladega back in April, holding off Ryan Preece at the line. He has five Top-10 finishes, including two Top-5 results heading into the playoffs.
The stats may be slightly deceiving, as Preece has led more laps already in 2025 than any other season in his career. It’s also about where the solid runs have happened. In prior years, Cindric was only a real threat at superspeedways and road courses, but this season has shown improvement at short tracks and intermediates.
Photo: Rian Voyles/TRE
Among his Top-10’s, he has a sixth-place run at Las Vegas, 10th at Pocono, and fifth at Richmond. He also has 11th-place finishes at both Darlington and Kansas.
The way the playoffs shake out should have Cindric fans excited. Gateway is the second race of the Round of 16, the site of his lone 2024 victory. Granted, that win came at the expense of Ryan Blaney running out of gas, but Penske’s speed at Gateway should give the No. 2 team hope.
If they’re able to make it to the next round, the Charlotte ROVAL will be their biggest shot, as Cindric finished fourth there last season. Then, if all goes to plan, the Round of 8 might line up the best of any round for him.
Photo by Marcus Leno/TRE
With Las Vegas, where he finished sixth this spring, Talladega, where he won in April, then Martinsville, where he finished fourth last fall, the potential is off the charts if he can make it there.
The problem? Actually getting there.
Photo: Ryan Kemna/TRE
Cindric enters the playoffs as the No. 10 seed, but sits just +2 to the cutline heading into Darlington. While Gateway does offer hope, just one minor slip up could be the difference between a dream run and a round of 16 exit.