News

Ambetter Health 400 - Atlanta Motor Speedway
Hampton, Ga. - February 23, 2025

AUSTIN CINDRIC No. 2 MENARDS/DELTA FORD MUSTANG

START: 2ND     
STAGE 1: 2ND     
STAGE 2: 9TH     
FINISH: 28TH     
POINTS: 4TH
 

RACE RUNDOWN: Austin Cindric was officially credited with a 28th-place finish Sunday evening at Atlanta Motor Speedway, a result that doesn't reflect the commanding performance he and his Team Penske teammates displayed throughout the Ambetter Health 400. For the second consecutive week, Cindric secured a front-row starting position as Ford Performance continued its dominant qualifying streak at Atlanta, locking out nine of the top 10 starting spots on the grid. Wasting no time at the drop of the green flag, Cindric powered to the lead and controlled much of the opening stage until Ford teammate Josh Berry surged ahead to claim the Stage 1 victory, with Cindric close behind in second. Under caution, Cindric relayed to his Menards/Delta team that his No. 2 Ford Mustang was a bit snug and came to pit road for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. Restarting third behind teammate Joey Logano, The No. 2 team conducted a fuel-only stop on Lap 81 and remained a staple among the frontrunners as multiple cautions slowed the field throughout the second stage. As the pack intensified in the closing laps of Stage 2, Cindric slipped outside the top five and crossed the line ninth, adding more stage points to his tally. With handling feedback similar to his earlier reports, he returned to pit road under the stage break for a four-tire service stop and restarted 26th as numerous competitors had pitted under the previous caution. Undeterred, the Ohio native sliced through the tightly bunched field, charging back into the top 10 by Lap 178. As the laps wound down, the Team Penske and Wood Brothers Racing contingent remained a dominant force at the front, combining to lead over 180 of the race's 266 laps. However, a late-race incident in the closing laps derailed Cindric's bid for a strong finish, collecting his No. 2 machine in the melee. Despite the unfortunate result, Cindric's performance - leading 47 laps and showcasing Team Penske's collective strength - underscored the speed and execution that defined the night.

CINDRIC'S THOUGHTS: "It was unfortunate. As a team, as Fords, we had the best cars here this weekend. We put ourselves into position to win the race and got used up and into the fence and didn't win the race. It's a shame. Two weeks in a row I feel like we have had the car to beat and haven't done it. One way or another it is disappointing."

RYAN BLANEY No. 12 BODYARMOR ZERO SUGAR FORD MUSTANG

START: 1ST     
STAGE 1: 8TH     
STAGE 2: 12TH     
FINISH: 4TH     
POINTS: 1ST
 

RACE RUNDOWN: Ryan Blaney rallied back from a late-race spin to come away with a fourth-place finish Sunday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway, marking his third-straight top-five and sixth-consecutive top-10 result at the 1.5 mile track. After earning his 11th-career Cup Series pole Saturday afternoon, Blaney's BODYARMOR Zero Sugar Ford led the field to green in the 400-mile event as he endured some handling issues early on en route to an eighth-place finish in Stage 1. Several cautions throughout the second segment varied strategies throughout the field as Blaney worked his way through two and three-wide battles before ultimately crossing the line 12th in Stage 2. Following a four tire stop under caution, Blaney charged his way back to the front of the field using the low lane before taking the lead with 37 laps to go. However, 10 laps later, Blaney was on the wrong end of a poorly-timed push from the No. 77 at the entrance of turn one, sending the No. 12 for a spin on the apron to bring out the caution. The 12 team serviced the BODYARMOR Zero Sugar Ford with four fresh tires before Blaney restarted from the tail end of the field, marking the start of a quick surge through the field in the closing laps. Blaney worked his way back into the top-10 with eight laps to go before ultimately taking the checkered flag fourth under caution.

BLANEY'S THOUGHTS: "It was a good comeback. I just fell back from getting spun there and I was able to pick our way through and ended up scrounging a good finish out of it.  It was a little bit of a struggle getting to the front after I lost some track position in the first and second stage, and then we got spun by the 77 when I finally got track position and we were able to make it back up and run forward, so it was an up and down day, that's for sure. I'm happy we were able to make a recovery."

JOEY LOGANO No. 22 SHELL-PENNZOIL FORD MUSTANG

START: 4TH     
STAGE 1: 10TH     
STAGE 2: 3RD     
FINISH: 12TH     
POINTS: 11TH
 

RACE RUNDOWN: Joey Logano led a race-high 83 laps in a 12th-place finish Sunday afternoon at Atlanta Motor Speedway. After taking the green flag from the outside of row two, Logano challenged for the lead early on in the 400-mile event while battling a lack of grip throughout the opening run of the day, ultimately resulting in a 10th-place finish in Stage 1. The 22 crew's first stop of the day resulted in Logano winning the race off pit road as he went on to control the race for the majority of the second stage. A caution with 10 laps remaining in the stage brought the field back together for a four-lap shootout as Logano forced a three-wide battle coming to the green-and-white checkered flag, but settled for third in the running order in Stage 2. Following a four tire stop and a round of adjustments prior to the final run of the day, Logano navigated through three-wide battles in the middle of the pack as he climbed his way back up the leaderboard with the laps ticking off. Logano raced his way back into the top-five by lap 200, but the handling of the Shell-Pennzoil Ford in traffic plagued his charge to the front. A caution with three to go set up an overtime restart where Logano's momentum was halted on the final lap, as the No. 21 was turned in front of him on the backstretch and was scored 12th at the time of the caution. Logano's 83 laps led Sunday increases his career total to 1,168 laps led at drafting tracks, marking the most among active drivers after surpassing Denny Hamlin's previous mark of 1,152. 

LOGANO'S THOUGHTS: "It was just challenging all day. We had a really fast car and when we were up front we could control it really well. When we had a couple Fords up front it was domination and then when I got in the back I didn't handle well enough. It just cost us too much back there and I couldn't move my way back up. Every time I got a gap it just wasn't good enough to get back up there handling-wise, so the car was fast but we just needed more steering."

The NASCAR Cup Series travels to Austin, Texas, for its next stop at Circuit of the Americas. The race will be broadcast live Sunday, March 2 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX with in-car camera angles available all race long through MAX Driver Cam.