Austin Cindric snapped a two-year winless streak at Gateway on June 2nd, 2024, bringing the No. 2 NASCAR Ford Mustang Dark Horse back to Victory Lane for the second time in his career. Not only did he redeem himself, but he redeemed his team, Team Penske, and he said he’s extremely proud of his performance – and that of other Blue Oval racers as they turn their season around for the better.
Per a report from NASCAR.com, a fan gave Cindric a horseshoe as a token of good fortune after his win on Sunday. His teammate, Joey Logano, who drives the No. 22 Mustang, earned the unique “trophy” in 2022, and Cindric is happy that he was able to claim another for Penske.
“Going into the race today, I went to bed last night knowing I’d be really, really disappointed if one of us didn’t win,” Cindric said. “Just happy that we were in position there when [Ryan Blaney] ran out [of fuel], bring home a win because this team deserves it.”
Cindric acknowledged that The Blue Oval is back on the rise after struggling through the first third of the 2024 Cup Series season. In fact, Penske might only be matched by Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing (RFK), which also earned its first 2024 win just a few weeks ago at Darlington – and the first win for Ford this year.
“RFK has definitely shown speed from the Ford side and been able to prove that we can run up front and win in this package,” Cindric said. “There’s a lot of conversation about different OEMs, this and that. That’s definitely something we look at as a race team to try and improve and get better.”
But he also said there’s still a long way to go.
“Believe in confidence, momentum as much as you want,” he said. “Too much of a realistic guy, especially with myself, to think that this is just going to make me drive harder and be a better race car driver moving forward. I can promise you I’ve been giving it absolutely everything I have to run 20th some weeks.”
Subscribe to Ford Authority for more Ford racing news, NASCAR news, and ongoing Ford news coverage.
Comment
about time