Austin Cindric wins at the end of the photo
Austin Cindric needed the least amount of chaos in recent Talladega history to have the chance to win Jack Link’s 500 NASCAR Cup Series on April 27 at Talladega Superspeedway.
He got it somehow, and drag racing Ryan Preece got to the finish line, winning his third win in his Cup Series career.
Cindric and Preece were able to postpone several Hendrick Motorsports' Chevrolets behind them without leaving any space William Byron or Kyle Larson drafting around them on the last lap.
Unlike the early stage ending in the race, there is no third lane late. And unlike the recent super racing race, there are no late warnings or crashes that affect the end.
Here are the winners and losers of the NASCAR Cup Series held in Talladega on Sunday:
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Penske's first-tier driver locked into NASCAR playoffs: Austin Cindric, who won the victory on Talladega's nose.
When parked for 15 laps at the Green-flag Pit, Cindric was able to become the leader of the Pack and tucked in tightly with a pair of Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolets instead of trying to own the two lanes. Another Ford Ryan Preece leads the top line, but neither can gain a clear advantage.
Cindric got enough traction on the final lap with Tri-oval and beat the win by 0.022 seconds.
Penske Ford's second-place driver made the points on the weekend with 22 points but is now locked in the playoffs. Despite some mediocre extensions, Cindric has now won three of the last four regular seasons. That will work.
We don’t always want to pick the top two for the winners part of the week’s practice, but despite not winning, Preece stood out with a strong runner-up finish.
Of course, if he wins the game on Sunday, Pres doesn't have to worry about points. But the driver of the No. 60 RFK Racing Ford generally had a good point day, ranked 12th in the regular season rankings and 14th in the playoff photos.
Preece is in the top 10 of the 10 games of the season, a great start to his first season with Roush Fenway Keselowski.
Ryan Blaney suffered his fourth DNF in 10 games of the season, finishing 39th in Talladega's 39th, as the first phase collapse between Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski.
Blaney is an innocent bystander in the crash, Keselowski cuts one side on the side, and Keselowski spins with Busch, trying to slow down and lower down to the pit area.
Blaney had to have high expectations that he won the game three times.
One important thing to note: Blaney is still one of the champions favorites and has performed well for most of the first three months of the season. But the results have not been reflected yet.
Still, with Penske's history, the challenging regular season season hit its highest when it mattered most.
Participate in 10 games and you can start researching points to give people a good vision of who might become the 16-drive field and who won't.
Last year, Boucher was the first racer in the playoffs after the playoff winner hit the critical value. Apparently, he is one of the best drivers of 2024, with an average of 9th and top ten.
This year, Buescher entered Talladega at regular season point for 12th, but ranked 13th in postseason photos. This isn't a good time for the No. 17 RFK racing Ford for the first DNF of the season, but that's exactly what happened when Buescher and Christopher Bell rebooted late in Phase 1 while backing off.
Like Blaney, Buescher was a bystander and the problem with another car drove him out of the race. Denny Hamlin had a bad second round bump, turning Bell into Buescher, and the two swung inside and smashed the inner wall.
Buescher is ranked 36th in the worst case of the season.
He should be OK in the playoff photos now, but it is this result that could put No. 17 driver in a similar position as last year.