Austin Cindric gets help from late pit stop, wins NASCAR Xfinity Series title with Phoenix victory
Austin Cindric’s No. 22 Ford pit crew put on fresh tires, and Cindric did the rest in overtime laps, shooting past Justin Allgaier and Noah Gragson to win the Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 and the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship.
Cindric, in his first championship four appearance in three seasons on the circuit, was a double winner in the 100th race of his career. His big gamble to come to pit road while holding the lead with just two laps to go in the race paid off, even though he allowed Allgaier to move into the lead before the final restart for the chance at higher speed from new tires.
Cindric said he saw Sheldon Creed make a similar call late in the Truck Series final race Friday night, which Creed won, so he figured he’d go for it.
“Amazing effort by this (number 22) team. There was a lot of work put into this race car,” Cindric said. “I’m pretty humbled by the effort, for sure. Talk about a relationship between driver and crew chief.”
Fellow championship finalist Chase Briscoe spun out in lap No. 197 with Cindric leading. That led to a caution flag, and jeopardized Cindric’s chances at the title.
Allgaier stayed on the track, Cindric went to the pits for new tires, and the restart saw Cindric make contact with Allgaier and Gragson. Gragson led for the first of the two final laps, but Cindric passed him on the last one.
“It was embarrassing to spin out,” Briscoe said. “I’ve never felt so little in my life thinking that if he (Cindric) didn’t end up winning, it was going to be costly.”
Only a finish ahead of Allgaier was needed for Cindric to win the championship, but he won the race outright. Cindric will be back in the Xfinity Series next season before moving up to the Cup Series in 2022.
“Those are some tough calls,” Cindric’s crew chief, Brian Wilson, said. “I based it on what I saw in the truck race. It seemed like tires really mattered.”
Allgaier, in his fourth championship four appearance, finished in fifth place. Championship finalist Justin Haley and Briscoe ended up in eighth and ninth. Gragson, who was not in contention for the circuit title, took second place.
“Knew it was going to be a battle at the end,” Allgaier said. “I didn’t feel like we had the best car. I’m probably more bummed that we didn’t finish second.
“When I walk out of this race track this evening, I can tell you 100 percent that I gave 100 percent,” he added.
The race saw eight restarts, three in the first 27 laps. The third incident on the track involved four cars near the back of the pack.
Briscoe entered the race with nine wins on the season. He grabbed the early lead from Allgaier, who opened with the pole position.
Haley had a different pit crew after a member of his team tested positive for COVID-19 earlier in the week , which led to the quarantine of four other crew members.
Cindric took his first lead of the race in Lap 83 and won the second stage.
"There's a little bit of pride, but obviously you don't want to throw away a championship," Cindric said. "So I didn't go 10 intensity in the final quarter (mile) but I went 9.9 trying to make sure we solidly sealed the deal."
Non-championship four driver Brandon Jones, who won the last Xfinity race in Avondale on March 7, pushed Allgaier for the lead near the midway point of the race. But Cindric passed Jones to move into second place.
Harrison Burton, who took sixth place Saturday, was named the Xfinity Series Rookie of the Year. The 20-year-old won four races this season, including the last two before Phoenix.
Get in touch with Jose Romero at Jose.Romero@gannett.com. Find him on Twitter at @RomeroJoseM.