(Photo: Riley Thompson | The Podium Finish)
Austin Cindric has seen a mixed bag through the first five races of 2023.
The 24-year-old from Mooresville, North Carolina has a sixth-place finish to his name at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and an 11th-place finish last weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Otherwise, the 2022 Daytona 500 champion has finished 23rd or worse in each race.
Cindric’s 45 points at Atlanta were the most he’s earned all season, elevating him up to 11th in driver’s points.
“I’d say the first couple of races were a bit frustrating for us – just getting put into the wall three weeks in a row is just not going to be good for points,” Cindric told the media Wednesday. “Last weekend was definitely our best points weekend in Atlanta. I’d say, the points are also extremely tight right now because everyone is kind of having that up-and-down trying to find that footing.
“I really thought you’d see the same parity and the same up-and-down performance, trying to find our consistency as you saw from a lot of groups last year. And that’s continuing this year. That consistency is huge for being in control of your own destiny points-wise.”
Cindric will be back in his wheelhouse Sunday at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. The Team Penske driver has experience racing both sports cars and open-wheel. In addition to his five Xfinity Series road course wins, he has top 10s in five of his first nine NASCAR Cup Series road course races.
But Sunday’s first road course race of the season will look different. Drivers will have several different factors in play at COTA.
Former Formula 1 star Kimi Raikkonen, who made his Cup debut last season at Watkins Glen International, is making his second start with Trackhouse Racing and Project 91. Another former Formula 1 star, Jensen Button, is making his Cup debut for Rick Ware Racing with Stewart-Haas Racing support. IMSA star Jordan Taylor is driving the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports car for the injured Chase Elliott and NTT IndyCar Series driver Conor Daly is back with TMT Racing.
That doesn’t include seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, who is making his second start of the season for Legacy Motor Club.
“As far as the pedigree of drivers, not only in our own field but also guys who are coming in for a one-off or a couple of unique opportunities,” Cindric said. “[I’m] excited to race against guys like that, and have them in our sport, stadium and wacky way of doing things probably in comparison to what they’re used to. It’s a lot of fun and fun to see the growth of someone who’s trying this for the first time.
“I’ve been in this sport for what I would consider a limited amount of time, and the things that were new to me and strange to me are probably strange, new or different for someone else. It’s fun to see what those different, strange, awkward moments are for other people as they’re trying to learn. I think it’s fun for the race fans as well. Guys like that who are extremely established, I would expect probably every single one of them in a certain respect to have some pace this weekend.”
(Photo: Riley Thompson | The Podium Finish)
Sunday’s race will be the second race with a two-inch spoiler and the removal of three diffuser strakes and engine panel strakes. The package, which will be used on road courses and a majority of tracks 1.058 miles in distance or shorter, creates 30% less d0wnforce compared to last year.
The package debuted two weeks ago at Phoenix Raceway. Teams will have an extended 50-minute practice session Friday at COTA to experiment with the changes.
“It’s going to change a bit how you set up the car or how you offset it,” Cindric explained. “It’s a lot less downforce, which means there will be a lot less grip and a lot slower. You could make the argument that a couple inches off the rear spoiler probably creates less drag and you could probably make up some time on the straightaways. But past that, I think you’ll be fighting for grip in the braking zones and definitely into the higher-speed corners.”
The choose rule will be in place for the first time on road courses. Previously, NASCAR only used the rule at non-superspeedway ovals, but beginning this season, it’ll be active in each race.
NASCAR put the choose box on the backstretch after Turn 11 at COTA.
“It probably creates a bit more of a logistical complication at a road course, just because usually for me, I rely on my spotter a lot for the information,” Cindric said. “It does give you the option to make a right or wrong decision, so it definitely adds plenty of stress to the driver, and it can certainly change your day depending on if it’s better or worse. You can certainly make the same argument for speedway racing.
“From my own personal standpoint, we’re prioritizing to have a spotter over in that location just for that implementation. So, it’ll be interesting to see how it goes this weekend and how much influence it’ll have. I feel like the choose for the drivers, more times than not, is an opportunity to screw up more than it is an opportunity to gain something.”
(Photo: Erik Smith | The Podium Finish)
For the first time since the 2016 season, NASCAR will eliminate stage cautions on road courses. The race will still have stages that award points to the top 10 drivers, but officials won’t call for a caution.
This will speed up the total time of the race and alter pit stop strategy.
“It really changes the opportunity for strategy depending on cautions and potentially fuel mileage,” Cindric said. “I think it really changes the strategy of the race and how to go about your speed, but also and most importantly, it gives the chance for the best cars of that race to be rewarded for being the best.
“I personally have never done a NASCAR-sanctioned race that didn’t involve stage breaks. It’ll be new to me, as far as pushing those cars for that long. If it were the last-generation car, I’d be concerned about brakes and those long green flag runs. I’d say with this Next Gen car, not so much. But someone’s going to fall out of the seat – that’s my prediction for the weekend. I can tell you it’s not going to be me, but I think it’s more possible this weekend than any other weekend.”
Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
