Practice groups, qualifying order for NASCAR Cup Series at Auto Club Speedway

Posted on February 24, 2022February 24, 2022 by Staff Report

Check out the practice groups (2 p.m. ET on FS1) and the qualifying order (2:35 p.m. ET on FS1) for Saturday’s on-track action at Auto Club Speedway ahead of Sunday’s Wise Power 400 (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). To view the groups and order, click the printer icon above or click here to see the full order.

On most ovals this season, including this week at Auto Club, teams will be split into two groups based on odd/even finishing order from the week’s previous race for one 15-minute warm-up/practice session per group. That will lead directly into single-car, single-lap qualifying. The top five drivers from each group will then advance to the second round of qualifying to fight for the pole with another single-car, single-lap run.

Posted on February 24, 2022February 24, 2022 by Staff Report

Two years ago at Auto Club Speedway, Alex Bowman was chasing job security. Now, the former midget racing prodigy is chasing history.

Facing an uncertain long-term future with Hendrick Motorsports upon arriving at the 2-mile tri-oval in 2020 for the Auto Club 400, Bowman led 110 laps en route to his second career NASCAR Cup Series win, after which he declared, “Hendrick Motorsports is where I want to be; where I want to stay for the rest of my career.”

Eleven weeks later, Bowman signed a deal with Hendrick through 2021 – then re-upped last summer for another two years – and now returns to Fontana, California, for the newly named Wise Power 400. After a race cancellation in 2021, he’s aiming to join Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch as the only back-to-back spring winners at the track. Bowman, however, is buried in race-winner odds at the BetMGM sportsbook, and is an underdog against William Byron in Featured Matchup odds.

Here’s a breakdown of Featured Matchup betting at the BetMGM sportsbook (odds and betting data as of Wednesday, Feb. 23):

Ryan Blaney (-200) vs. Austin Cindric (+165)

Ryan Blaney was “committed” to Penske teammate Austin Cindric at the Daytona 500 until he “was 100 percent sure” that one of the drivers would win on Roger Penske’s 85th birthday, Blaney said. And when the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series winner was 100 percent sure, he went for the checkered flag and his first win in the Daytona 500 after three top-10 finishes.

One week later, Blaney is still a seven-time winner thanks to Cindric’s block on the final lap, one Blaney admitted, “you’ve got to throw in that situation.” Now, Blaney returns to Fontana, where he also has three top-10 finishes and is favored to finish ahead of Cindric, though the public money isn’t behind Blaney.

As of Wednesday, despite receiving 60 percent of the ticket share in his Featured Matchup against Cindric, Blaney has only 40 percent of the handle. Prior to Sunday’s win, Cindric hadn’t finished ahead of Blaney in a Cup Series race in which they both started since the 2021 Daytona 500, a run of six races.

Chase Briscoe (-125) vs. Bubba Wallace (+105)

Bubba Wallace was happy with a second-place finish at Daytona in 2018. On Sunday, he called coming that close to a Daytona 500 win “a gut punch.” And he likely won’t respond with a win in California, the public is overwhelmingly predicting with their Featured Matchup betting.

While Wallace is receiving a modest 5 percent of the tickets – tied with Blaney for the fourth-highest among all drivers – to earn the second Cup Series win of his career, only 3 percent of the Featured Matchup tickets (and 2 percent of the handle) are on Wallace against Chase Briscoe. It’s the lowest head-to-head handle share of any driver this weekend.

Briscoe, meanwhile, is making his first Cup Series start at the Auto Club Speedway but is familiar with the low-banked, 75-foot wide track. He drove the No. 98 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Production Alliance Group 300 in 2019 and 2020, finishing fifth and 19th, respectively.

Daniel Suarez (-120) vs. Erik Jones (+100)

The last time Daniel Suarez was in Fontana, he was driving the No. 96 Toyota for Gaunt Brothers and was two weeks removed from a failed Daytona 500 qualifying attempt – thanks to a crash on Lap 30 of the Bluegrass Vacations Duel 1 qualifying race. And, after four previous top-15 finishes at the Auto Club Speedway in the Xfinity Series (two) and Cup Series (two) – including a seventh-place run in 2017 – he finished 28th.

Suarez is now driving the No. 99 Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing Team and one week removed from a career-best 18th-place finish at the Daytona 500. And he’s favored against Erik Jones, who posted a 10th-place finish here in 2020 when he was driving for Joe Gibbs Racing. He has yet to run this track with Petty GMS Motorsports.

Bettors are pounding Jones at the book; 95 percent of the handle and 96 percent of the ticket are on the 25-year-old Michigan native to top Suarez.

William Byron (-120) vs. Alex Bowman (+100)

Despite the nearly nine-second Auto Club win two years ago, Bowman is buried in race-winner odds (tied for eighth at +1200) and a Featured Matchup underdog to William Byron, who’s coming off a breakout season and has four top-15 finishes in four career races (three NASCAR Cup Series, one Xfinity Series) at the Auto Club Speedway.

Byron might get a fifth top-15 finish, but he’s not a popular pick to win, nor is he a popular pick to finish ahead of Bowman. Of the 15 drivers with winner odds of +5000 or better, Byron (+1000) has the lowest ticket (1 percent) and handle share (1.3 percent). And 91 percent of the handle is on Bowman in their Featured Matchup betting.

You can view updated Wise Power 400 odds and more NASCAR odds at the BetMGM sportsbook.

Posted on February 23, 2022February 23, 2022 by Staff Report

NASCAR penalized two Cup Series teams on Wednesday for losing wheels from their race cars during Sunday’s Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. The teams penalized were the No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet, driven by Justin Haley, and the No. 50 The Money Team Racing Chevrolet, driven by Kaz Grala.

As a result of the safety violations by both teams, there were several suspensions announced. For the No. 31 team, crew chief Trent Owens and crew members Jacob Nelson (front changer) and Marshall McFadden (jackman) will miss the next four championship points events. And for the No. 50 team, crew chief Tony Eury Jr. and crew members Chris Zima (jackman) and Aaron Powell (rear changer) will miss the next four championship events.

NASCAR, which did not issue further penalties to Team Penske and RFK Racing after confiscating wheels from both teams at Daytona, also released a statement in regards to a wheel specification change for Fontana.

The statement read: “NASCAR met with Next Gen suppliers and several race teams this week to discuss wheel specifications. Following that discussion, NASCAR made small adjustments to increase the upper tolerance on pin and pilot bores for Fontana. NASCAR will reevaluate with suppliers and race teams and determine a path forward following this weekend’s race.”

The penalties to the cars that lost wheels were referenced under Sections 10.5.2.6 of the NASCAR Rule Book: Loss or separation of an improperly installed tire/wheel from the vehicle with the note: Loss of tire/wheel during the event.

Grala went on to finish in 26th place in the Daytona 500, while Haley finished 23rd. The Cup Series is back on track this weekend at Auto Club Speedway for Sunday’s Wise Power 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on February 23, 2022February 23, 2022 by Nick Giffen

The Action Network specializes in providing sports betting insights/analytics and is a content partner with NASCAR. Check out more NASCAR betting analysis here.

The Daytona 500 came down to an exciting overtime finish, with rookie Austin Cindric taking home his first career Cup Series victory.

Unfortunately, the 40-1 prop bet I recommended barely missed cashing as Chase Elliott beat Ty Dillon to the line Sunday for top Chevrolet by a foot.

Nevertheless, we press on.

RELATED: NASCAR BetCenter | Odds for Auto Club

With the pomp and circumstance of Daytona now in the rearview mirror, the season-long grind begins this weekend at Auto Club Speedway. The track is a 2-mile stretch known for high tire wear. Drivers that can best manage their tires often do well. The most comparable track to Auto Club is Atlanta before its repave this past offseason.

Others might like to include Homestead and Darlington as well. While they are useful comparisons, they can be a bit misleading because certain drivers perform quite differently at Homestead and Darlington than they do at Atlanta and Auto Club.

Books will often lump these high tire wear tracks all together, leaving value on the table to bet certain drivers.

That’s exactly where I’m looking for in my best outright bet of the week.

NASCAR at Auto Club Betting Picks

*Odds as of Wednesday afternoon

Ryan Blaney (+1200) to win

Blaney opened at 14-1 odds to win Sunday, but there’s still value in this line.

Just looking at average green flag speed, here are Blaney’s ranks at Auto Club compared to his full-year rank:

2017: 10 vs. 13
2018: 8 vs. 11
2019: 4 vs. 10
2020: 2 vs. 5

In other words, Blaney is consistently better at Auto Club than he is at an average track. Additionally, he’s improved every year the series has run at Auto Club. Blaney is also driving a Ford, which won the Busch Light Clash, both Duels at Daytona and the Daytona 500.

My statistical model gives Blaney a 9.0% chance to win on Sunday. The 12-1 line translates to a 7.7% implied win probability.

DraftKings has the most generous line right now with this 12-1 offering, but I don’t mind grabbing this at 11-1 on FanDuel as well.

Christopher Bell (+500) for a top-five finish

Bell didn’t exactly shine at the high-wear tracks last year, but there are some good signs for him.

First, his best finish last year at the high tire wear tracks came at the second Atlanta race. He also won at Atlanta in both the Camping World Truck and Xfinity series. Bell also grabbed a third-place result at Auto Club in his final Xfinity season.

Perhaps most impressively, he scored two top-11 finishes, one each at Homestead and Darlington in his rookie season with the now-defunct Leavine Family Racing.

That said, my model gives Bell a 27.8% chance of hitting a top five. While that might be a bit too generous, he needs to achieve a top five only 16.7% of the time to be profitable.

So, even if my model is overestimating his chances, it would have to be doing so by quite a wide margin to be wrong.

I would bet Bell to finish in the top five as low as +400 odds.

Posted on February 23, 2022 by Press Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR and NBC Sports announced today broadcast coverage for the 2022 slate of grassroots races on USA Network, including events in the ARCA Menards Series East and West, and NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.

USA Network will air tape-delayed coverage of every race from the three series – except those that are combined ARCA Menards Series events – for a total of 30 race broadcasts. All televised coverage on USA Network will stream on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.

All races from the ARCA Menards Series East and West (when not combined with ARCA Menards Series events), and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will air live on FloRacing.

NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour

The season kicked off with the New Smyrna Visitors Bureau 200 at New Smyrna Speedway on Feb. 12. USA Network begins its grassroots coverage with a tape-delayed broadcast of the event on Friday, Feb. 25 at 12 p.m. ET.

ARCA Menards Series East

The 2022 campaign started with the Race to Stop Suicide 200 at New Smyrna Speedway on Tuesday, Feb. 15. USA Network will provide tape-delayed coverage of the event on Friday, Feb. 25 at 1 p.m. ET.

ARCA Menards Series West

The NAPA Auto Parts 150 at Irwindale Speedway marks the first USA Network race of the season for the ARCA Menards Series West. It will air live on FloRacing on Saturday, March 26 at 10:05 p.m. ET before USA Network provides tape-delayed coverage on Friday, April 1 at 1 p.m. ET.

“NBC Sports is a fantastic partner and supporter of grassroots racing,” said Brandon Igdalsky, NASCAR managing director, touring series. “Showcasing the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and ARCA Menards Series East and West on USA Network delivers grassroots racing to a potential new fanbase, spotlights the stars of tomorrow, and provides avid fans with another quality content option.”

Complete event/air dates and times for all three series on USA Network are below. All times eastern and schedule subject to change.

Series	Race date	Track	USA air date	USA air time
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour	Sat, Feb 12	New Smyrna Speedway	Fri, Feb 25	Noon
ARCA Menards Series East	Tue, Feb 15	New Smyrna Speedway	Fri, Feb 25	1 p.m.
ARCA Menards Series East	Sat, Mar 19	Five Flags Speedway	Mon, Mar 28	1 p.m.
ARCA Menards Series West	Sat, Mar 26	Irwindale Speedway	Fri, Apr 01	1 p.m.
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour	Fri, Apr 01	Richmond Raceway	Sat, Apr 09	4 p.m.
ARCA Menards Series West	Sat, Apr 23	Kern County Raceway Park	Fri, Apr 29	1 p.m.
ARCA Menards Series East	Fri, Apr 29	Dover International Speedway	Fri, May 06	1 p.m.
ARCA Menards Series East	Sat, May 07	Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway	Fri, May 13	Noon
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour	Sat, May 14	Riverhead Raceway	Fri, May 20	Noon
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour	Sat, May 21	Lee USA Speedway	Fri, May 27	Noon
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour	Sat, May 28	Jennerstown Speedway	Thu, Jun 02	2 p.m.
ARCA Menards Series West	Sat, Jun 04	Portland International Raceway	Fri, Jun 10	Noon
ARCA Menards Series West	Sat, Jun 11	Sonoma Raceway	Thu, Jun 16	2 p.m.
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour	Sat, Jun 18	Monadnock Speedway	Sat, Jun 25	11:30 a.m.
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour	Sat, Jun 25	Riverhead Raceway	Sun, Jul 03	1 p.m.
ARCA Menards Series West	Sat, Jul 02	Irwindale Speedway	Fri, Jul 08	Noon
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour	Sat, Jul 09	Wall Stadium	Fri, Jul 15	6:30 p.m.
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour	Sat, Jul 16	New Hampshire Motor Speedway	Fri, Jul 22	Noon
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour	Fri, Jul 29	Claremont Motorsports Park	Fri, Aug 05	1 p.m.
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour	Wed, Aug 17	Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park	Sun, Aug 21	1 p.m.
ARCA Menards Series West	Sat, Aug 20	Evergreen Speedway	Fri, Aug 26	2 p.m.
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour	Sat, Aug 27	Langley Speedway	Fri, Sep 02	Noon
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour	Sat, Sep 03	Oswego Speedway	Sun, Sep 11	Noon
ARCA Menards Series West	Sat, Sep 03	Portland International Raceway	Sun, Sep 11	1 p.m.
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour	Sat, Sep 17	Riverhead Raceway	Sun, Sep 25	1:30 p.m.
ARCA Menards Series West	Sat, Oct 01	All American Speedway	Fri, Oct 07	3 p.m.
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour	Sat, Oct 08	Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park	Sat, Oct 15	2 p.m.
ARCA Menards Series West	Fri, Oct 14	The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway	Fri, Oct 21	Noon
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour	Thu, Oct 27	Martinsville Speedway	Fri, Nov 04	1 p.m.
ARCA Menards Series West	Sat, Nov 05	Phoenix Raceway	Fri, Nov 11	1 p.m.

Posted on February 22, 2022February 23, 2022 by Staff Report

NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition Scott Miller addressed several topics on Tuesday’s Morning Drive on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio after the season-opening national series events at Daytona International Speedway. Among them were the wheels NASCAR confiscated from Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing and Team Penske, the loose wheel for the No. 50 Cup car and the No. 21 of Harrison Burton getting airborne during a wreck in the Daytona 500.

For all three of these items, Miller said investigations were ongoing and that news was expected to be forthcoming after those examinations were completed, in addition to discussions between NASCAR and the teams and drivers involved.

On Friday at Daytona, NASCAR confiscated wheels from RFK Racing and Team Penske and took them back to the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina, for further investigation.

“We have some meetings with vendors and other team folks and analyzing deeper what we saw there,” Miller said to SiriusXM on Tuesday. “You’ll be hearing some more about that later in the week I’m sure. And honestly, it’s just one of those things that is really another one of the learning processes of what needs to be. Some people thought something needed to be one way, and others another. It’s the newness of it all, and we’re continuing to dig in.”

Notably, the Next Gen car uses larger 18-inch aluminum wheels manufactured by German wheel-maker BBS. Those wheels use a single, center-locking lug nut instead of the five-lug pattern of the former 15-inch wheels.

As for the No. 50 Chevrolet driven by Kaz Grala that lost a wheel during Stage 1 of the Daytona 500, Miller said wheels coming off is a serious matter and the news about what happens with The Money Team Racing will be included with the other wheel revelations later. But a four-race suspension for crew chief Tony Eury Jr. is possible based on NASCAR’s new deterrence policy.

Finally, Burton’s car, the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford, got airborne and went upside down during a wreck late in Stage 1 when Brad Keselowski’s No. 6 RFK Racing Ford made contact from behind and turned Burton’s car, which took additional contact from other cars before turning upside down and then landing on its wheels. Burton was checked and released from the infield care center and walked away from the wreck under his own power.

“We have to look at what led up to creating that,” Miller said. “Every one of those situations when a car gets hit, the angle it gets hit, the angle it is going backwards when it gets hit, contributes a lot to the learnings for us. … We had a lot of other cars spin around at speed with no contact that did the job exactly as designed. When there’s contact involved that’s a big variable so it’s something we study with the safety team and learn from.”

Posted on February 22, 2022February 22, 2022 by Staff Report

Get an inside look at rising NASCAR Cup Series driver Bubba Wallace in the Netflix docuseries “Race,” launched worldwide on Tuesday. The six-part program chronicles Wallace’s life both on and off the track, providing exclusive access to him during the 2020 and 2021 seasons — including his first season with 23XI Racing, co-owned by NBA legend Michael Jordan and NASCAR superstar Denny Hamlin.

The series traces Wallace’s rise to the elite ranks of NASCAR as the only current full-time Black driver in the Cup Series and his decision to speak out on racial justice issues. Over the course of the six episodes, Wallace reckons with who he is on and off the track and as both a driver and an activist.

“This is unlike any project I’ve ever participated in; it’s a raw, emotional and completely transparent account of the events that took place throughout the 2020 and 2021 NASCAR seasons,” Wallace said in a statement. “With me, what you see is what you get. You’ll witness the peaks and valleys of the sport and see how one’s actions off the race track are just as important as the ones on it.”

The series features appearances by Wallace’s family members, his team behind-the-scenes, Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Richard Petty, as well as commentators Michael Strahan, Jemele Hill and W. Kamau Bell.

The series was directed and executive produced by Erik Parker with fellow executive producers Kevin Liles, Nolan Baynes, and Kelly G. Griffin for 300 Studios; Andrew Fried, Dane Lillegard, Jordan Wynn, and Sarina Roma for Boardwalk Pictures; Matt Summers, Tim Clark and Tally Hair for NASCAR.

Posted on February 21, 2022February 21, 2022 by Terrin Waack

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Kyle Busch went for a spin on Lap 63 during Sunday’s largest wreck, and it later managed to cross the finish line at Daytona International Speedway on Lap 201 in sixth place.

Busch was one of the eight drivers involved in the Stage 1 conclusion crash that took half out of contention for the Daytona 500 victory. His car was clipped by those of William Byron, Harrison Burton and Denny Hamlin — all of whom ultimately exited prematurely because of their contact. Ross Chastain was the fourth DNF.

“It definitely slowed us down a little bit,” Busch said. “Any time you get damage, it’s not optimum, but otherwise, we were able to hang in the draft well and race around some of the other guys that were fast. But there were definitely guys that were faster than us and they were noticeable.”

DAYTONA 500: Race results | Austin Cindric wins as a rookie

Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media

Most notably would have to be Austin Cindric, who won as a rookie. Bubba Wallace came in second. Chase Briscoe, Ryan Blaney and Aric Almirola completed the top five before Busch slid into the results.

Busch was 13th in Stage 1 and 14th in Stage 2. He averaged an 11.38 running position.

The two-time champion did lead four times for a total of 28 circuits. He now boasts 324 laps led in 17 career Daytona 500 starts, which marks the all-time most by drivers who have never won the crown-jewel event. His best result is second (2019), and he has three top-five and five top-10 runs overall.

Busch lined up ninth on the final restart that set up the two-lap dash to the checkered flag in overtime. He wasn’t close enough to help fellow Toyota driver Wallace, who was third. Had Busch been, Wallace and Co. think the No. 23 would have had a better chance to pass Cindric for the win.

“Certainly,” said Wallace’s crew chief, Bootie Barker. “I mean, if you were to have one of our teammates with us, for sure you would have more of a shot. It just went against us this race. All of them got wrecked.”

PHOTOS: Sights, scenes from Daytona 500

Of the other Toyota pilots, Martin Truex Jr. wound up 13th and Kurt Busch was 19th. Both Hamlin (37th) and Christopher Bell (34th) crashed out.

James Gilbert | Getty Images

Wallace and Busch had drafted together earlier, too, and it worked. Busch propelled Wallace, who led 12 laps.

“At the beginning, I was like this ain’t bad, and then we had some moments and I was like all right, let’s not let our guard down here,” Wallace said. “But Kyle is one of the best at pushing, so I appreciate that. We were trying to move the line and maybe we should have stayed top there and keep that line rolling, but it’s always interesting being pushed by him.”

The next superspeedway race isn’t until April 24 at Talladega Superspeedway, where Busch owns one win (2008) in 33 starts. Busch and the entire garage have Auto Club Speedway in a week instead (Feb. 27 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

NASCAR does return to Daytona, though — Aug. 27 for the regular-season finale.

“Overall, a good day and a good effort,” Busch said. “I’m pleased with how far we came from behind to get a decent finish there. We were tore up a lot most of the race, so that was a good finish.”

Posted on February 21, 2022February 21, 2022 by Zack Albert

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Three-plus years later, it remains a really tough watch.

Austin Cindric was nearing the end of a split Xfinity Series campaign, dividing time between Roger Penske’s and Jack Roush’s cars. Four of his nine starts in Roush’s No. 60 Ford had ended in race-ending crashes. The last of those came on Labor Day weekend, 2018.

Cindric’s No. 60 had nosed into the inside retaining wall at Darlington Raceway before the engine had hardly warmed – last place, just two laps completed. “Come ONNNN!” he screamed over the team radio. The interview that followed at the infield care center was no easier, and the cringe meter had been pegged. Cindric choked up, saying he knew he’d get teary-eyed because his team had worked so hard to try to further his racing efforts.

So the question came Sunday on what exactly Cindric would’ve told his previous self, the one that struggled to a 17th-place average finish that star-crossed year. Could he have said that one day he’d be a Daytona 500 champion and that everything would be OK?

“Probably not. You probably couldn’t have picked me up from the care center and said, you’re going to win the Daytona 500 one day. I probably would have said, ‘bulls—.’ But we’ve come a long way since then,” Cindric said with a degree of understatement. “It’s a very big credit to a lot of the people around me that have believed in me.

James Gilbert | Getty Images

“I’ve driven a lot of different race cars in my career, a lot of different race cars at this track alone, and I’ve seen the highs and lows of it. I have a lot of perspective from friends, competitors, co-drivers, teammates. This race means so much to so many people, and just very humbled to be able to get it done.”

Cindric soaked it all in Sunday, further distancing himself from those turbulent days with a crowning victory in The Great American Race. Fending off a late challenge from teammate Ryan Blaney, Cindric opened his rookie NASCAR Cup Series season in the best possible way, in Victory Lane at Daytona International Speedway.

MORE: Closest finishes in Daytona 500 history

So yes, 2018-self Austin Cindric, it got better. In the years that followed, Cindric notched an Xfinity Series championship in 2020 and came a quarter of a lap away from another title last year. All the while, he was climbing toward a destination in the Cup Series, driving the famed No. 2 for Roger Penske while replacing former series champion Brad Keselowski.

Along the way, there was the backbiting that he tried to tune out. Tim Cindric, his father, is the president of Team Penske. Any whispers that his last name helped him more than his driving merit didn’t seem to faze him.

“For me, I guess I don’t have time for the noise,” Cindric said. “But if there’s anything I have left to prove, I’m not sure what it is.”

Sunday’s finish may have done more to sway those opinions and to bury the memory of his inauspicious start.

“I think Jeff Gordon tore up a lot of race cars, too, at one point, and he turned out to be pretty awesome,” said No. 2 Ford crew chief Jeremy Bullins. “… I think the years he’s been in the Xfinity car and the experience he gained there just made him better to get to the point where — I hope this gives him a sense of belonging over here, that I can do this and I do fit in and all those things because that confidence is very inspiring and leads you to do great things.

“Did it start off great? Maybe not. But I’m telling you the kid studies and he works hard, and he puts a lot of effort into it. If he’s not doing well, he will figure it out for sure.”

Cindric’s name gained some clout Sunday. Funny, since it was initially misspelled on the placard above his garage stall when his team arrived in Daytona early last week.

Any tears in interviews Sunday would have been joyful ones. As a measure of how far he’d distanced himself from that 2018 dismay in Darlington, no less than Mario Andretti applauded Cindric on Sunday evening for a “most brilliant drive” on social media.

From one Daytona 500 champ to another.

“If I’m able to come here and win this race again and put myself in position again, I think every race is different, every experience is different,” Cindric said. “At this moment of my life, I can’t think of anything more amazing and more gratifying than winning this race specifically. It’s a lot of hard work, like you said. It’s all I care about, it’s all I think about, and that’s what’s gotten me this far.”

Posted on February 20, 2022February 21, 2022 by Terrin Waack

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Bubba Wallace has been in this exact situation before, yet his emotions couldn’t be more different.

In 2018, Wallace finished second in the Daytona 500 by 0.206 seconds. Sunday night, he had the same result. This time, he crossed 0.036 seconds too late.

“I didn’t have a fighting chance the first time in 2018,” Wallace said. “This one, being that close, it’s just like a gut punch. Going from all the confidence in the world to literally having it ripped out from underneath you is a really s—– feeling.”

James Thomas | NASCAR Digital Media

Daytona 500: Race results | Austin Cindric wins as a rookie

Wallace isn’t referencing the margin of victory, though.

The 2018 run was not only his first career top five, but top 10. It also doubled as the first race of his rookie season in the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet.

Now, Wallace is in his fifth full-time season and driving the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota. He has a win under his belt — Talladega Superspeedway in October 2021, the last race on the track type before Sunday.

“I think Bubba has a lot of confidence in the speedways,” 23XI Racing director of competition Mike Wheeler said. “I think him and Freddie (Kraft, spotter) did a really good job, hearing them work and learn and improve and be a top-tier group. It really shows to be pretty good. So, proud of that effort and hopefully keep going with that.”

Wallace was in position to win in overtime, too.

PHOTOS: Sights, scenes from Daytona 500

With two laps to go, Wallace lined up behind Ryan Blaney on the inside lane for the restart. Blaney’s teammate, Austin Cindric, was up top in the lead, with Brad Keselowski behind him.

Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media

“He and Freddie talked about it,” No. 23 crew chief Bootie Barker said. “They knew we had to shove the 12, keep shoving the 12 so it kept us going forward, too, to have enough energy so at the end something could happen.”

Instead, Cindric pulled in front of Blaney. Keselowski remained outside. It stayed like that until the final sprint to the checkered flag when Blaney tried to make a move. Cindric blocked him, leaving a gap open for Wallace.

Wallace was half a car length short of Cindric at the finish line.

The repeat outcome puts Wallace on a short list with Blaney (twice), Charlie Glotzbach (twice) and Terry Labonte (three times) as drivers with multiple runner-up finishes in the Daytona 500. There’s disappointment, but there’s also momentum — and confidence.

“Higher than it ever has been,” Barker said. “But we know the work we got cut out for us at all the other tracks. And we’re OK with it. You just stay focused and work on the task at hand always.”

The next task is Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, next Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Wallace has three career starts on the 2-mile oval, with the best coming in 2018 (20th). NASCAR did not race at Auto Club in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so Wallace has never been there with his current team.

Wallace will enter the event sitting fourth in the points standings – the highest he has ever been ranked since that 2018 Daytona 500.

“You know, we succeeded,” Wallace said. “We succeeded on all levels, but we failed at the same time. So, going through that, trying to ride that, is super tough. Maybe two days, maybe three and probably a freaking week, I’ll get over this. But California is Sunday.

“That’s the one thing that people ask me about: What motivates you? Having another chance next week to go back to Victory Lane.”

Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media