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Austin Cindric’s Daytona Disaster: Penske’s Dominant Day Ends in Carnage

Redação by Redação
February 17, 2025
in Motorsports
Reading Time: 6 mins read
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Austin Cindric’s Daytona Disaster: Penske’s Dominant Day Ends in Carnage

Feb 16, 2025; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Austin Cindric (2) and driver Alex Bowman (48) during the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images

For a moment, Austin Cindric was on the brink of Daytona 500 glory. He had led the most laps, controlled the final restarts, and had the lead as the white flag waved. But in a matter of seconds, his shot at victory disintegrated in a chaotic melee, leaving Cindric—and much of Team Penske—frustrated over what could have been.

Daytona’s unpredictability struck with full force, and instead of celebrating in Victory Lane, Cindric was left picking up the pieces of a race that slipped through his fingers.


The Lead Was His—Until It Wasn’t

Cindric had been the man to beat all day. He led a race-high 59 laps, navigating his way through the superspeedway chess match with precision. As the final lap began, he still held control, with Denny Hamlin on the inside and Cole Custer charging on the outside.

The first sign of danger came when Riley Herbst went sliding through the infield grass, an incident that in any other race might have prompted a caution. But NASCAR officials kept the race green, and that set the stage for a backstretch disaster.

“Frustration,” Cindric admitted post-race. “You’re taking the white as the leader. I felt like I executed all the restarts the right way and really that whole third stage.”

“I didn’t get wrecked out of the lead this time, so that was cool, but it still doesn’t make it feel any better.”

Hamlin saw his opportunity and pulled to Cindric’s outside, making a decisive move for the lead. But then, everything spiraled into chaos. Contact at the front of the pack triggered a pile-up that swept up both Hamlin and Cindric, along with several other contenders.

Amid the carnage, William Byron slipped through the mayhem, escaping untouched to claim his second straight Daytona 500 victory. Cindric, meanwhile, was left wondering what went wrong, ultimately finishing a deflating eighth place.

“Obviously, I don’t even know where we finished, but it was still a decent points weekend and an incredible showing by our team for the entirety of Speedweeks. It’s just a shame we couldn’t get this Discount Tire Ford Mustang in Victory Lane.”


Joey Logano: The Instigator, the Frontrunner, the Wreck Magnet

Cindric wasn’t the only Penske driver left frustrated and wrecked. Joey Logano, the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion, also saw his promising night go up in smoke—but his incident happened earlier and under more controversy.

Logano had been one of the fastest cars on track, leading 43 laps, and appeared to be in prime position to challenge for his third Daytona 500 win. But with 15 laps to go, he made one aggressive move too many.

While running the middle lane, Logano attempted to force his way below Ricky Stenhouse Jr., trying to squeeze through a gap that didn’t quite exist.

“I felt like to win the race I had to get to the second row in my line there,” Logano explained. “I saw the opportunity to drop down and get underneath the (No.) 47 and have the (No.) 4, another Ford, behind me. Then the 47 threw a late block there.”

Stenhouse reacted by blocking the move, but Logano was already committed. The two made contact, sending Logano into Kyle Busch and touching off a massive crash that collected eight cars.

The result? Logano was out of the race, classified in 35th place, fuming over a miscalculation that ended his night far too soon.


Ryan Blaney: Wrecked, Recovered, and Resilient

While Logano and Cindric saw their races slip away, Ryan Blaney managed to salvage a respectable finish—but it didn’t come easily.

Blaney, too, was caught up in Logano’s wreck with Stenhouse, as his No. 12 Ford was sent spinning across the backstretch after being clipped by the No. 47 car. Despite hitting the outside wall, Blaney’s team managed to repair the car just enough to keep him in the race.

By the time the final lap arrived, Blaney was running 16th—a long way from where he had been earlier in the race. But as the final crash erupted ahead of him, Blaney made a split-second move to the apron, dodging the wreck and securing a hard-fought seventh-place finish.

“Honestly, we did a good job fixing it after we got turned on the backstretch off of Turn 2,” Blaney said. “We rode around, missed the first big wreck, and then kind of went racing the second one.”

“I went to the bottom, got to the apron, and was able to miss a lot of that junk and wound up seventh. It was a good recovery.”


Penske’s Dominance Ends in Disappointment

Team Penske had all the ingredients for Daytona 500 success. Their three cars led a combined 125 laps, showcasing dominant speed and race control throughout the event. But Daytona is never predictable, and when the dust settled, they had no cars in Victory Lane and only one driver inside the top ten.

Austin Cindric: 8th (led 59 laps)
Ryan Blaney: 7th (led 23 laps, recovered from crash)
Joey Logano: 35th (led 43 laps, wrecked out with 15 to go)

For Cindric and Logano, the pain was immediate, as they both saw potential victories stolen in the blink of an eye. For Blaney, there was at least a sense of redemption, though he knew his car was capable of much more before the crash derailed his chances.

Team Penske came into Speedweeks as the dominant force, but they leave Daytona with nothing but frustration and the realization of what could have been.

Now, the focus shifts to Atlanta, where all three drivers will be hungry for redemption and eager to turn their speed into a victory—before the heartbreak of Daytona lingers any longer.

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