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Austin Cindric takes dominant Xfinity win at Mid-Ohio

Austin Cindric led 47 of 75 laps at Mid-Ohio en route to his second consecutive victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Race Winner Austin Cindric, Team Penske

Race Winner Austin Cindric, Team Penske

Gavin Baker / Motorsport Images

Cindric cruised to the checkered flag at Mid-Ohio, his second career victory coming just one week after his first at Watkins Glen International.

The Team Penske driver crossed the finish line 3.7 seconds clear of Christopher Bell. A.J. Allmendinger finished third, Tyler Reddick fourth and Noah Gragson fifth.

"It feels so good ... these guys are the best," said Cindric. "Thank you for bringing me a great car again this year. I'm having so much fun. Hell of a job by Christopher Bell. He did a great job keeping me honest all day. Man it feels good, two in-a-row."

Stage 1

Cindric led the race from the get-go after securing pole position. The first caution came early in Stage 1 for the stalled car of Ray Black Jr, but the stage went green from that point onward.

While battling for third place, Cole Custer and Jack Hawksworth collided in the final corner and both went spinning.

 

Although he led nearly every lap of the opening stage, Cindric did not take the green and white checkered flag first as he and several others opted to short-pit. 

This allowed Chase Briscoe to inherit the race lead and take the stage win over Gragson, Jeremy Clements, Brandon Jones, Ryan Sieg, Custer, Michael Annett, Lawson Aschenbach, Scott Heckert and Josh Bilicki. 

Stage 2

Cindric briefly stalled after his stop and it cost him track position to Bell, who would become the race leader after the first stage. Briscoe restarted back in 13th after winning Stage 1.

Bell led until a caution for Brandon Brown, who spun off into the gravel and needed to be retrieved. The following restart resulted in another quick yellow as Chris Dyson sustained heavy front-end damage in a stack-up and came to a stop in Turn 1.

The stage came down to a four-lap shootout, but that did not last either as JR Motorsports teammates Justin Allgaier and Gragson went spinning in the Keyhole. The incident collected several other drivers and forced another yellow. 

 

The stage would not resume and Hawksworth would take the stage win after passing Bell moments before the caution. Bell ended the stage in second followed by Cindric, Tyler Reddick, Allmendinger, Gray Gaulding, Sieg, Justin Haley, John-Hunter Nemechek, and Tommy Joe Martins.

Stage 3

The strategy was split during the stage break as Michael Annett and Brandon Jones opted for no tires. Other cars stayed out entirely and set-up a hectic restart. Cindric quickly weaved his way through the pack and reclaimed the race lead ahead of Bell and Allmendinger.

With 19 laps to go, Heckert went off into the gravel and brought out the final caution of the race. Most of the field used this as an opportunity to pit for fresh rubber, but three drivers decided to stay out.

They were Regan Smith, Will Rodgers and Briscoe, but they were not able to hold position for long. Cindric was able to take the lead from Briscoe with a bold pass around the outside and never looked back.

The victory makes Cindric just one of four Xfinity Series drivers to win multiple races this season.

Cla # Driver Manufacturer Laps Time Laps Led
1 22 United States Austin Cindric  Ford 75   47
2 20 United States Christopher Bell  Toyota 75 3.780 15
3 10 United States A.J. Allmendinger  Chevrolet 75 10.296  
4 2 United States Tyler Reddick  Chevrolet 75 11.685  
5 9 United States Noah Gragson  Chevrolet 75 12.135 1
6 7 United States Justin Allgaier  Chevrolet 75 17.373  
7 98 United States Chase Briscoe  Ford 75 20.024 5
8 00 United States Cole Custer  Ford 75 20.435  
9 11 United States Justin Haley  Chevrolet 75 23.377  
10 19 United States Brandon Jones  Toyota 75 24.323  
11 51 United States Jeremy Clements  Chevrolet 75 33.591  
12 86 United States Will Rodgers  Chevrolet 75 34.446  
13 1 United States Michael Annett  Chevrolet 75 35.451 1
14 08 United States Gray Gaulding  Chevrolet 75 36.422  
15 18 United Kingdom Jack Hawksworth  Toyota 75 37.942 5
16 39 United States Ryan Sieg  Chevrolet 75 38.626  
17 93 United States Josh Bilicki  Chevrolet 75 41.769  
18 66 United States Tommy Joe Martins  Toyota 75 42.223  
19 07 United States Ray Black Jr.  Chevrolet 75 55.164  
20   United States Garrett Smithley  Chevrolet 75 55.402  
21 8 United States Regan Smith  Chevrolet 75 58.142 1
22 36 United States Josh Williams  Chevrolet 75 1'15.481 1
23 99 United States Patrick Gallagher  Toyota 74 1 lap  
24 68 United States Brandon Brown  Chevrolet 74 1 lap  
25 5 United States Vinnie Miller  Toyota 74 1 lap  
26 15 United States B.J. McLeod  Chevrolet 73 2 laps  
27 42 United States Timmy Hill  Toyota 65 10 laps  
28 4 United States Lawson Aschenbach  Chevrolet 63 12 laps  
29 78 United States Scott Heckert  Toyota 57 18 laps  
30 74 Aaron Quine  Chevrolet 42 33 laps  
31 23 United States John Hunter Nemechek  Chevrolet 41 34 laps  
32 01 United States Stephen Leicht  Chevrolet 36 39 laps  
33 52 United States David Starr  Chevrolet 36 39 laps  
34 90 Chris Dyson  Chevrolet 31 44 laps  
35 13 United States Chad Finchum  Toyota 13 62 laps  
36 35 United States Joey Gase  Toyota 8 67 laps  
37 38 United States J.J. Yeley  Chevrolet 2 73 laps  
38 53 Max Tullman  Chevrolet 2 73 laps  

 

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