Daytona 500 champion Austin Cindric takes first pole of the NASCAR Cup Series in wild practice at Fontana
FONTANA, Calif. – Austin Cindric This was followed by his Daytona 500 victory by taking the first pole of his career in the NASCAR Cup Series on Saturday at Auto Club Speedway in a tumultuous debut for the new practice and qualifying format at the intermediate track.
Cindric posted the fastest average lap speed on his Penske Ford Team of 174,647 mph, pause Erik Jones (174,157 mph) and capped off a hectic morning for NASCAR’s first practice and qualifying session on a 2-mile oval with its Next Generation cars. Some drivers turned around and others crashed while learning how to steer a Next Generation car on new tires amid high winds.
“There’s so much going on and obviously it’s all happening very quickly,” said Cindric, 23, who won the first Cup of his career at Daytona. “As a driver, you can’t be distracted by bumps, mistakes. … I learned all I needed to do and had to apply it, [but] there are a lot of people who have had some pretty rough days and that puts a lot of teams in a tough spot on the West Coast track. “
Fontana racetrack can be an entertaining race on Sunday with a strong mix of new cars on old tarmac. Drivers are being forced to learn on the job, but most hail the chaos as a recreational challenge.
“I don’t think race cars always have to be easy to drive,” Jones said.
Three-time race champion Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Daniel Hemric round the top five.
Cindric’s achievement is another banner achievement for team owners Roger Penske, who built Auto Club Speedway a quarter of a century ago. Penske Car won the Season Opening Clash and Daytona 500, while Scott McLaughlin and Spirit are sitting in the front row this weekend for IndyCar’s season opener in St.Petersburg, Florida.
Cindric took the lead after a series of mistakes and adjustments at Fontana.
Kevin Harvick turned to the wall during the opening moment of the newly abbreviated practice series. Ross Chastain piled up against the wall with a heavy blow afterwards, while Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace and Christopher Bell also rotate.
Aric Almirola, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and William Byron all had problems in previous qualifiers Chase Elliott turn around his last effort, clearing the way for Cindric’s first turret.
The NASCAR Cup Series is back with Auto Club Speedway to open the West Coast Ferris wheel for the first time since 2020 after going missing last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. The motorists were in Los Angeles just three weeks ago for the successful season-opening exhibit at the Colosseum.
