Austin Cindric celebrates after winning Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois. Jeff Roberson/KeynoteUSA
MADISON, Illinois – Austin Cindric emerged as the surprise winner of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway when teammate Ryan Blaney apparently ran out of gas while leading on the final lap.
Blaney, the reigning series champion, appeared to be on his way to his first win of the season after fighting off a challenge from Christopher Bell, who had trouble with his own car in the closing laps.
Cindric, who had pitted just one lap after Blaney, took advantage of the situation and took the second victory of his career. The other came in the 2022 Daytona 500.
Denny Hamlin placed second, earning his sixth consecutive top-five finish. Brad Keselowski was third, followed by Tyler Reddick and Joey Logano.
Bell had the dominant car for much of the day in suburban St. Louis, leading 80 of the 240 laps. All three Penske cars (Cindric, Blaney and Logano) did not pit during the break between the second and third stages, and that put them in position to go for the win.
Blaney and Bell, the winner of last week’s rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600, dueled for the lead for several laps before Bell, just after finally briefly getting ahead of Blaney, gave up and reported brake problems. engine to your team. Bell finished seventh, being pushed by teammate Martin Truex Jr. on the straights in the closing laps.
Blaney settled for 24th place, being the last to finish the lead lap.
Michael McDowell started from the pole and led the first 40 laps before Bell maneuvered to take the lead for the first time.
Kyle Busch, last year’s winner who struggled with grip in practice and qualifying on Saturday, pitted on lap 19 during an early caution and took the lead after the restart as other leaders pitted after which concluded Stage 1 on lap 45.
But Bell quickly made his way through the eight cars that hadn’t stopped and regained the lead on lap 69.
SHOCKS OF THE DEFENDING CHAMPION
Busch and Kyle Larson were battling side-by-side for seventh place on the final lap of Stage 2 when they came together in an incident that took out the defending race champion.
After the two collided on the frontstretch, Larson attempted to dive inside Busch in Turn 1, but broke free in the process. Larson’s car slid down the track, forcing Busch into the wall. Busch’s race was over, but Larson was able to pit and return to the race in 29th place.
“Trying to compete for a playoff spot and, you know, gradually falling a little bit there,” said Busch, who was runner-up in the track’s inaugural Cup race in 2022 before winning last year. He “got loose and annihilated us.”
In their radio communications, Larson and his spotter accused Busch of causing the accident by not giving him room inside.
ARMSTEAD RETURNS
Miami Dolphins offensive tackle Terron Armstead, originally from nearby Cahokia, Illinois, brought 20 area kids to the race as part of his foundation’s growing community efforts.
Armstead hosted its second annual charity basketball game on Friday and its 10th annual football skills camp on Saturday.
“The overall goal of this whole weekend is really exposure and introduction to different industries, different paths, many different lifestyles, different sports, networking, meeting new people, connecting the dots, building relationships,” said Armstead, who He recently restructured his contract in hopes of helping the Dolphins win the Super Bowl.
“That’s the goal and the memories. Maybe it will cause a fire in the youth.”
Copy story link
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Please use the form below to reset your password. Once you’ve submitted your account email, we’ll send you an email with a reset code.
Related stories
Keynote USA
For the Latest Sports News, Follow Keynote USA Sports on Twitter.