2022 Daytona 500: Cindric playoff-bound, Wallace frustrated
By Bob Pockrass
FOX Sports NASCAR Writer
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Austin Cindric celebrated his Daytona 500 victory for about 90 minutes, and then he already was talking about what’s next.
"As far as what's after the Daytona 500, there's a race next week that needs to be won by somebody," Cindric said. "So I’ve got to start focusing on that at some point.
"I'll try and smell the roses."
He should. Some of the sport’s greatest drivers have never won the Daytona 500. And most don’t do it on their second try.
Cindric won the race Sunday in dramatic fashion, by just 0.036 seconds over Bubba Wallace, who finished second for the second time in five years.
Bob Pockrass on Austin Cindric's incredible No. 2 debut in Daytona and Brad Keselowski's frustrating night
Here are three takeaways from the 2022 Daytona 500:
Cindric playoff-bound, but ...
Having won a race, Cindric is very likely playoff-bound. The only way the Team Penske driver wouldn’t make the playoffs is if there are more winners than spots in the 16-driver field, which consists of the regular-season champion and 15 drivers based on number of wins, with point standings the tiebreaker.
"I thought you were going to have to win a race to get in the playoffs this year, and we're in the playoffs," Cindric said. "We're in the All-Star Race.
"I can't tell you the last year the 2 car [of Team Penske] hasn't won a race. So I'd say that's a little bit of weight off the shoulders there."
As far as points position, there is a chance that Cindric could suffer a points penalty (and see his crew chief suspended) after Team Penske and Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing had wheels confiscated by NASCAR on Friday because they were deburring the pinholes of the wheel.
"We have seen some interference issues," Cindric crew chief Jeremy Bullins said. "That's what we've all been hedging against, if you will, through some of the things we've done."
NASCAR said it will decide on any penalties this week. Teams had been warned to not mess with vendor-supplied parts without approval, and NASCAR indicated that they had not been notified of any safety issues with the new wheels.
"Anybody who was at the race today, you talk to most of the teams, they all had trouble with wheels, didn't they?" team owner Roger Penske said. "It wasn't something that was unique.
"And I think that we had contacted NASCAR a week before and said that the wheels we were getting were not all the same, and we felt we needed to modify the holes where the drive pins go. We didn't really get any feedback, and at that point, we went ahead and opened the holes up."
Rookie Austin Cindric wins the Daytona 500 after a chaotic finish
Wallace finishes second
Wallace felt the sting of a second-place finish for the second time.
Back in 2018, his second-place finish came in his first Daytona 500, and he relished that moment. Sunday's second place didn’t feel as good.
"What could have been, right?" Wallace said. "Man, we need to talk about some happy stuff here — just dejected, but the thing that keeps me up is just the hard work."
Bubba Wallace on finishing second in the Daytona 500: 'It sucks when you're that close.'
With the rest of the Toyota drivers having issues or being involved in accidents, Wallace had to rely on help from drivers of other manufacturers at the end. That typically isn’t a recipe for success, but he crossed the finish line just short while running beside Cindric.
"I'm going to be pissed off about this one for a while," he said. "I was happy on the first second-place we got a couple years ago.
"This one sucks when you're that close, but all in all, happy for our team, happy for our partners, and on to California [for the next race]."
Burton flips
The Next Gen car passed another safety test Sunday, as Harrison Burton walked away after flipping.
While the cars were designed to stay on the ground, the type of perpendicular impact that turned Burton over would be difficult to prevent. His car bounced on its roof before getting back on four wheels.
"The roof line itself is lower, but they’ve got us lower in the car as well, so I’d say my head is in about the same spot as it was in my Xfinity car," Burton said. "I didn’t notice any intrusion or anything. I thought it maintained its shape pretty well.
"Obviously, it’s going to move and bend some, but I didn’t notice any intrusion there. I think, so far, it was a good testament of the car being safe."
2022 Daytona 500: Harrison Burton goes upside down & Austin Cindric wins
Bob Pockrass has spent decades covering motorsports, including the past 30 Daytona 500s. He joined FOX Sports in 2019 following stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @bobpockrass. Looking for more NASCAR content? Sign up for the FOX Sports NASCAR Newsletter with Bob Pockrass!
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