DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Roger Penske received quite an 85th birthday from his rookie driver.
Austin Cindric drove his brand new NASCAR ride to victory in the Daytona 500. Cindric was the leader on the restart from the top lane and pulled out to a sizeable gap. He then ducked down to the bottom line in front of his Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney so that Blaney and Cindric could work together over the final two-lap sprint to the finish.
A crash behind them brought out the caution and Cindric was ruled the leader and the winner. It’s the first career Cup victory for the 23-year-old Cindric, who was promoted from the Xfinity Series to replace Brad Keselowski in the No. 2 Ford and run for NASCAR’s rookie of the year honors.
Bubba Wallace finished second in the season-opening race for the second time in his career. He was followed by a trio of Ford drivers in Chase Briscoe, Blaney and Aric Almirola.
Chase Elliott signs 5-year extension before Daytona 500
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Chase Elliott has skipped the free agency process and agreed to a five-year contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports. The announcement Sunday came hours before the season-opening Daytona 500.
This season was the final year in Elliott’s current contract. Elliott is the 2020 Cup champion and four-time reigning winner of the fan-voted most popular driver award. He will drive the No. 9 Chevrolet through 2027 with the new extension.
