By Kent Whitaker
Last season the 2021 Daytona 500 saw longtime journeyman driver Michael McDowell grab his first Cup Series win. He did so at the season-opening Daytona 500. The race captured headlines and was the talk of the racing world for weeks. Would we ever see another driver get their first Cup victory by winning the Great American Race? As it turns out, yes!
Austin Cindric is a known name in racing as he’s been a fixture in ARCA, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Now, the rookie Cup Series driver for Team Penske can add the title of Daytona 500 winner to his resume.
Cindric beat out veteran driver, and Superspeedway winner, Bubba Wallace to the finish line to win the 2022 Daytona 500.
Cindric started the race in the fifth spot after the leadup races known as the duals.
That put the driver of the No. 2 Ford for Team Penske towards the front of the pack when the green flag was waved to start the race. That starting position may or may not be a factor during a Superspeedway race that’s known for shuffling drivers in and out of the front pack.
But would shuffling happen again? After all, these were the brand new NexGen cars that had only really been tested during the shorter dual races. There were still questions about how “pack racing” would go and how the cars would respond if left out of the draft. As it turns out, pack racing is still pack racing! And, if left out of the draft, cars still fall behind.
Cautions Come Early
Things started as most Daytona 500 races do. There was a combination of green flag runs and lead changes common to pack racing. But this year, Stage 1 seemed to be more chaotic than most Daytona races. The first caution came when Kaz Grala lost a tire, only the first of several cars to do so during the race.
The stage ended when Brad Keselowski gave Harrison Burton a massive push which sent Burton into a spin that sent William Byron into the air. Several other cars were collected including Denny Hamlin who ended up out of the race at lap 63 along with Byron, Burton, and Ross Chastain. Martin Truex Jr pushed to the front to win Stage 1.
Stage 2 seemed fairly uneventful compared to Stage 1 as Ford drivers lead most of the laps. Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, and Joey Logano took turns out front for long green flag stretches. The closest thing that caused some chatter was that Chase Elliott stalled in the pits. He got back on the track while still on the lead lap but dropped back to the 22nd spot. Once again, Truex Jr pushed to the front of the main pack to win Stage 2 giving Toyota fans hope of winning the 500.
Chaotic Final Few Laps
The final Stage got underway with several lead changes and a few green flag runs. Then, Tyler Reddick took a wild spin down the front stretch which cause heavy damage. The wreck sent Joey Logano and Kurt Busch through the grass while Truex was also caught up in the action. All four cars suffered damage and the day was over for Reddick.
As the laps clicked away the normal rush for the win took place which caused a few more incidents. By lap 196, of a 200 lap race, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Erik Jones, Kevin Harvick, Noah Gragson, Kyle Larson, Todd Gilliland, and Christopher Bell were all out of the race. That set up the final run for the finish which turned into a sprint between Cindric and teammate Ryan Blaney. Both drivers were neck and neck after the final restart with Cindric pulling ahead with only two more trips around the Speedway. Bubba Wallace and Brad Keselowski were tucked in tightly behind them. Blaney tried one last move to the top line for the pass coming out of turn four but Cindric blocked. That put Blaney into the wall – this coming one year after three Penske cars wrecked on the final lap giving up a chance for a 1, 2, 3 team finish.
Instead, it was Bubba Wallace taking on Cindric in the closing seconds but Wallace could not get past the No. 2 Penske Ford. Cindric stayed out front while Wallace crossed the finish line in second place with Chase Briscoe in 3rd followed by Blaney and Aric Almirola to round out the top five.
“Oh, my God. I’ve got so many people to thank,” Cindric said after climbing from his car. “First and foremost Roger Penske, happy birthday!” Cindric became only the 9th NASCAR driver to capture their first Cup Series win by winning the Daytona 500.
Wallace had a chance to get two Superspeedway victories in a row and came close to winning the Daytona 500. He climbed from his car for an interview following the finish and showed his frustration on how the race ended.
“Damn, I wanted to win that one,” Wallace said about the finish He also shared his thoughts when things started to get tight. ”Going down the back, (I was like), ‘Alright, pal, it can either end really bad or end really good – This could hurt or the victory could be sweet.’ I think I’d rather get wrecked out than finish second.”
Beating the Oddsmakers
If there was one thing that oddsmakers and NASCAR sports pundits could agree on it was that a few familiar names were the favorites to win the 2022 Daytona 500. As with many races at Daytona, or on a Superspeedway, Denny Hamlin was noted as the favorite and most sports wagering sites had him as the lone favorite to win the race outright.
Other drivers that were pointed to were two defending Cup Series Champions – Chase Elliott who won the Cup Series title in 2020 and Kyle Larson who won it in 2021. Then, list a long line of Ford drivers who always seem to be a factor when it comes to Superspeedway racing. For example, take a look at the names at the top of the odds list heading into the race weekend for the 2022 Daytona 500.
Denny Hamlin +850
Chase Elliott +1000
Kyle Larson +1100
Joey Logano +1200
Ryan Blaney +1200
You’ll notice that Austin Cindric was not listed among the favorites heading into the race weekend. Oddsmakers had Cindric running somewhere in the middle of the pack at +2500. Simply put, the new driver for the famed No. 2 Penske Ford joined an elite group. The No. 2 had been piloted by drivers such as Rusty Wallace, Kurt Busch, Bobby Allison, Dale Earnhardt, and others. And, Cindric was taken the seat over from former Cup Series Champion Brad Keselowski.
Stage One Winners
- Martin Truex Jr
- Brad Keselowski
- Todd Gilliland
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr
- Joey Logano
- Austin Dillon
- Kurt Busch
- Erik Jones
- Kyle Larson
- Chase Elliott
Stage Two Winners
- Martin Truex Jr
- Joey Logano
- Bubba Wallace
- Brad Keselowski
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr
- Austin Cindric
- Chris Buescher
- Kevin Harvick
- Kyle Larson
- Todd Gilliland
Official Finishing Order 2022 Daytona 500
- Austin Cindric 201 running
- Bubba Wallace 201 running
- Chase Briscoe 201 running
- Ryan Blaney 201 running
- Aric Almirola 201 running
- Kyle Busch 201 running
- Michael McDowell 201 running
- David Ragan 201 running
- Brad Keselowski 201 running
- Chase Elliott 201 running
- Ty Dillon 201 running
- Daniel Hemric 201 running
- Martin Truex, Jr. 201 running
- Corey LaJoie 201 running
- Landon Cassill 201 running
- Chris Buescher 200 running
- Cody Ware 200 running
- Daniel Suarez 199 running
- Kurt Busch 199 running
- Cole Custer 199 running
- Joey Logano 198 running
- Jacques Villeneuve 198 running
- Justin Haley 198 running
- Alex Bowman 197 running
- Austin Dillon 197 running
- Kaz Grala 196 running
- B.J. McLeod 196 running
- Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. 194 crash
- Erik Jones 191 crash
- Kevin Harvick 191 DVP (Damaged Vehicle Policy)
- Noah Gragson 190 crash
- Kyle Larson 190 crash
- Todd Gilliland 190 crash
- Christopher Bell 152 crash
- Tyler Reddick 151 crash
- Greg Biffle 136 running
- Denny Hamlin 63 crash
- William Byron 62 crash
- Harrison Burton 62 crash
- Ross Chastain 62 crash
2022 Daytona 500 Stats via NASCAR Stats
In all, only 15 of the 40 cars that started the 2022 Daytona 500 crossed the finish line on the lead lap. Thirteen cars were behind the wall at the finish of the race.
Time of race: 3:31:53
Average speed: 142.295 mph
Pole speed: 181.159 mph
Cautions: 7 for 37 laps
Lead changes: 35
Most Laps as the Leader: Ryan Blaney/36
Green flag passes: 6,462 (39.4 per green flag lap)
- NASCAR
“Kent Whitaker, often called ‘the Deck Chef’ is a sportswriter, culinary writer, and cookbook author with fourteen titles. He covers NASCAR, racing in general, Football, barbecue, grilling, and tailgating. You can visit him on www.thedeckchef.com .”