News

Track:           Richmond Raceway     
Race:             GoBowling 250
Date:             September 21, 2018

No. 22 MoneyLion Ford Mustang – Austin Cindric 

Start: 11th
Stage 1: 9th
Stage 2: 10th
Finish: 13th
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 250/250
Laps Led: 0 
Driver Point Standings (behind first): 11th (-62)
Owner Point Standings (behind first): 3rd (-10) 

Notes:

• Austin Cindric and the No. 22 MoneyLion Ford Mustang team qualified 11th in the GoBowling 250 Friday afternoon at Richmond Raceway.
• During the first 75-lap stage, Cindric's Ford lacked grip on the start causing the driver to fall to the 17th position, before rebounding to ninth at the end of Stage 1. 
• Cindric pitted during the stage break, with crew chief Brian Wilson calling for four tires, fuel and a minor adjustment to help the Mustangs balance on the short run. The No. 22 team was assessed a penalty during the stop, causing the 20-year-old rookie to start Stage 2 from the 22nd position.  
• Once the second stage went green on lap 85, Cindric wasted no time making his way back into the top-13. The Mooresville native communicated his Mustang was better on the long run, but still lacked grip on initial take-off. Running some of the fastest laps on the track during Stage 2, Cindric raced his way back to the 10th position before the end of the second stage.
• Cindric made a scheduled four-tire pit stop during the following stage caution. Solid work on pit lane by the No. 22 MoneyLion crew allowed the Playoff contender to restart 10th when the race went green on lap 158.
• For most of the final stage Cindric ran in the top-10 until the final 25-laps of the race. During a series of late cautions, he slid back to 13th-place over the short run where he would remain when the checkered flag waved on lap 250. 
• Cindric remains 11th in the NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) Playoffs standings, seven points below the cutoff, heading to the Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the second race of the NXS Playoffs.
• The No. 22 Ford Mustang team is currently third in Owner Points, 10 points behind the No. 42 of Chip Ganassi Racing.

Quote: "If we were running the Cup race we would have been the best thing out there but the race was just too short for us and cautions at the wrong time. We had an amazing long run car. I think I passed more cars than anybody has the last two races here. It just came down to not executing on the one stop in Stage 1 and having to come from the back. It is frustrating because we were in a position to probably drive to the top-five but that is racing and how it goes. On those restarts when you don't have short-run speed and there are 10 to go, you get eaten up and we got eaten up. We were still able to get stage points ever round, so all in all it is a solid day but still frustrating because I know what we were capable of. We just move on and go to the Roval and it is a big challenge ahead for everybody. I think we will be on top of our game there too."