Austin Cindric, driver of the #60 Pirtek Ford, and Austin Dillon, driver of the #3 Bass Pro Shops/Cabela’s Chevrolet, are involved in an on-track incident during the NASCAR Xfinity Series PowerShares QQQ 300 at Daytona International Speedway on February 17, 2018, in Daytona Beach, Florida. Photo – Sarah Crabill/Getty Images
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 17, 2018) – Roush Fenway rookie driver Austin Cindric rolled off the grid 11th in Saturday’s NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) opener at Daytona International Speedway. Unfortunately, the young driver’s (NXS) Daytona debut came to an abrupt end after his No. 60 Pirtek Ford Mustang made contact with the outside wall on lap nine after getting caught in the middle of three-wide traffic. With the damage too extensive to repair on pit road the team was forced to settle for a 40th-place finish.
“I hate it for the guys on the 60 and anybody else involved,” Cindric said. “We will move on to Atlanta. I look forward to seeing how Chase (Briscoe) and those guys do in the 60. Hopefully we have a longer race down there.”
Cindric, who advanced to the second round during Saturday morning’s qualifying session, started the race on the inside lane but reported loose handling conditions on his Ford just a few laps into the race. Frantic pack racing in the front of the field forced the rookie driver into the middle of three-wide traffic, pulling the air off the nose of his Ford and helping to send the car into the wall.
The No. 60 will return to action next week at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where Chase Briscoe will make his debut behind the wheel of the historic Ford. Cindric makes his next NXS start on March 3 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.