MOORESVILLE, N.C. \u2014 Austin Cindric believes he let an opportunity get away last week at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. As a result, he and his No. 2 Team Penske Ford outfit is behind the eight-ball entering this weekend\u2019s NASCAR Cup Series event at Kansas Speedway.<\/p>\n
Cindric finds himself in 10th place, 19 points behind the final transfer spot with two races remaining in the Round of 12 of the Cup Series Playoffs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI definitely view it as a missed opportunity in a few ways,\u201d said Cindric, who finished 17th while teammate Ryan Blaney won the race.\u00a0\u201cObviously, having great runs from all of the cars that came out of that shop, I think, one, it starts in qualifying.\u00a0I think a lot of that was on me, just not getting the lap.<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, just getting a little impatient exiting a lap that would have been pretty strong, but I thought we had some strengths in the race.\u00a0We got some damage and probably more than I thought as far as from a performance standpoint, kind of reviewing things looking at the car.\u00a0The snorkel was pinched off, so that\u2019s power and the splitter was separated from the nose and that\u2019s downforce, so it was a pretty challenging stage three to come back up through the field after doing some repairs for that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI definitely see it as a missed opportunity to start the round off well and that\u2019s what we\u2019re gonna need to do,\u201d Cindric said. \u201cUs and many others like us have very few points or very similar points, so I think there are about six or seven guys that I\u2019m on the same playing field with and I look at it and think I could be further ahead than I am, but that\u2019s how it went and that\u2019s what we\u2019ve got.\u00a0We\u2019ve got two races to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cindric has two races to work his way above the cutline, including the final race of the round at the ROVAL at Charlotte Motor Speedway.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that anything we can do to get points.\u00a0I mean, we\u2019re obviously gonna have to go out and have two really good days and just as likely that the others do the same or get into trouble,\u201d Cindric said. \u201cKansas and the Charlotte road course have been two very challenging race tracks as far as getting in wrecks or getting behind, so I think there\u2019s a lot of opportunity for us and 19 is totally not out of the question, especially in two race events.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not getting ahead of my skis here at all, but I think from our standpoint you have to look at it realistically and think that we\u2019re gonna have to go out and have two of our best weeks of the year to go make this happen on points, but I think those are two tracks that we\u2019re capable of doing that,\u201d Cindric said.\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m excited for this weekend.\u00a0It pumps me up.\u00a0We\u2019ve got nothing to lose and everything to go out and gain.\u00a0I think that\u2019s kind of where my head\u2019s at.\u201d<\/p>\n
Four races into the playoffs and Cindric broke down how his team wound up below the cutline heading to Kansas\u2019 1.5-mile track this weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think any race has really gone the way we wanted it to so far, which put us in a very tight window for Bristol,\u201d Cindric explained.\u00a0\u201cI thought we had a lot of potential for a good finish at Bristol.\u00a0A lot of potential for a good finish at Darlington.\u00a0We definitely had speed at Gateway.\u00a0I can sit here and list off all the reasons why and a lot of ways I feel like that\u2019s how our season has gone this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I looked at my season from the perspective of a top 10 means I\u2019m good or not, I\u2019d go crazy because we\u2019ve had a lot more than just that, but we have to go out and put it up there.\u00a0We need to get results and results equal points, whether that\u2019s in the stages or at the end of the races.\u00a0My pit crew has probably been doing the best job they have all year and been super consistent and super reliable through the playoffs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d say that\u2019s probably one of my overwhelming positives\u201d he continued.\u00a0\u201cPast that, we\u2019ve done what we needed to, but we did in the last round is not going to be enough to get us through, and I also don\u2019t feel like we\u2019ve been able to achieve our maximum in those races, either.\u00a0I think that\u2019s really where my head\u2019s at and where my focus is because I do feel like if we achieve the maximum of what we\u2019re capable of as a group, or much closer to it, I feel like we\u2019ll find ourselves in a very favorable position to continue fighting for a championship.\u201d<\/p>\n
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