Richmond Top Three Gives Boon To Cindric's Chase Hopes

Austin Cindric (Nickolas Wolf/Nigel Kinrade Photography)

By Justin Glenn, SWN Staff Writer

RICHMOND, Va. (Aug. 19, 2026) – With the sun beginning to set on the regular season and the NASCAR Cup Series Chase looming large, Austin Cindric needed a quality performance to distance himself from late cut-line heartbreak.

He entered the first of the final three races 16th in points and in sole possession of the last provisional postseason spot. He’s on the right side of the coin, but that doesn't save him from the potential of a gut-wrenching collapse.

Saturday night at Richmond Raceway he avoided that. Cindric swam further above the cut line and delivered his best performance of the 2026 season.

Cindric finished third in the Cook Out 400 to capture his first top podium finish of the year. Saturday marked his first top five in a Cup race since March 29 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

“I'm not sure I was seeing that progress [of a top three] early, but we certainly had a fast Mustang, so I'm super proud of [crew chief] Brian [Wilson], everybody at Team Penske,” said Cindric. “I mean, all four of those cars coming out of the shop this week were lightning fast. Congrats to Joey [Logano] and everybody on the No. 22 car. This was the kick in the [expletive] this team needed.”

Cindric’s season has been hampered by individual inconsistencies, Ford having a down year, and also the stardom of teammates Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano, who have won two races each in 2026.

The 27-year old has made his hay running in the mid-teens, which isn’t horrible, but by Team Penske standards it falls short. Cindric’s performances are compared to his champion teammates, as by ‘Big Three’ Cup Series team measures the goal is always trophies.

“The last couple weeks, and really months have been a bit of a grind for us. [We’ve] been suffering in silence and succeeding in silence,” Cindric said. “Tonight was a good way to drop the mirror in front and remember who we are, be able to go out and execute a good race.”

The Mooresville, N.C., native has 11 finishes between 11th to 20th place across 24 races. That came after he opened the year with four straight finishes outside the top 25. Both trends buried him in points, and is the reason for his late-summer heavy lifting.

“You’d think interviewing a guy who’s probably finished 15th or around there all year would be happy [with third place], but I’m not,” Cindric told Steering Wheel Nation post race. “I expect to go out here and try to win races. Third is awesome and very well needed for our season, and for the morale of this group. We had a shot tonight and we didn’t win, that’s the stuff that makes you wake up and say ‘We’re working on the right stuff.’

“Our short run pace was on par and our long run pace was probably best in class,” Cindric added. “I thought our Ford Mustang could’ve won, [Joey Logano] was super strong, obviously [Chase Briscoe], it was fun.”

Cindric drove from the 23rd starting position, got inside the top 10 through pit strategy and finished stage one in fourth. From there as the stage lengths got longer, it became a game of efficient pit sequences, and maximizing speed on fresh tires.

Crew chief Brian Wilson did a nice job mixing his playbook with Penske short track power. To make things sweeter, the balance of the No. 2 held up well as the Central Virginia track transitioned from evening to night. It positioned Cindric in fourth again to finish stage two, racking up 14 stage points.

He also averted disaster twice on pit road. Cindric avoided a commitment line penalty in the heat of a Zane Smith spin-turned caution before pit road closed on lap 125. After that, he stopped before colliding hard into Daniel Suarez, who was exiting his pit, while entering his own box on lap 180.

The execution also allowed for Cindric to pass Shane van Gisbergen in points, as the Kiwi also needed a good weekend. ‘SVG’ finished 14th. But Cindric still jumped to 15th in the standings, seven points ahead of him, and now just 13 points behind Bubba Wallace for 14th overall.

“With the exception of qualifying, I’m super proud of the race car and the package. Everybody at Team Penske,” he said. “As far as the big picture goes for the season, it was a very important night for us to capitalize on a good car.”

Cindric secured his best Richmond finish in nine Cup starts, continuing two straight top fives at the track. In order to do so, he mentioned having to be creative, find a consistent rhythm all while mastering patience around the three-quarters-of-a mile oval. He found that as a challenge having not done too much short track racing growing up.

“I did about everything but [short tracks], and this is what I imagine it would be like. I've always loved coming to this racetrack, it's one of my favorites on the schedule,” said Cindric. “I don't usually look at the stands, but under caution, I think there were people hanging off the fence the entire night. It's really cool to see and it's what I think of when I think of short racing.”

He’ll look to continue the good synergy at New Hampshire Motor Speedway next weekend.

Cindric has been average on the ‘Magic Mile’ in his Cup career, with a best finish of 13th from his 2022 rookie season. In retrospect, across six short track races this year he has a top 10 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway and now a top three following Richmond.

Coverage of the Dollar Tree 301 from New Hampshire is slated for Sunday, Aug. 23 at 3 p.m. ET on USA, the Performance Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.