No workforce has thrived within the Playoffs format and the Subsequent Gen period fairly like Group Penske. Since 2022, the group has swept all three Cup Collection titles, two courtesy of Joey Logano and one from Ryan Blaney. Although Austin Cindric, the third Penske driver, hasn’t cracked the Championship 4 or claimed a title but, his document speaks volumes.
In 4 full-time Cup seasons, he’s reached the playoffs 3 times, ending twelfth and eleventh in two of them. After successful the Talladega race within the common season this 12 months, he once more made the postseason reduce however fell in need of advancing to the Spherical of 12.
Nonetheless, for a comparatively new Cup driver, Cindric’s performances maintain weight, successful the Daytona 500, bagging his second race at Gateway final 12 months, and scoring one other win this season isn’t any small feat.
Given how properly the format has performed into Group Penske’s fingers, its drivers naturally favor the Playoff system, although they insist their assist goes past private success. They credit score it for injecting suspense into the playoffs, the sort that retains followers guessing who’ll make the subsequent reduce.
Addressing the continuing debate amongst followers and insiders calling for a return to a 36-race factors format, Cindric supplied a balanced take. “There’s no denying that the present playoff format creates pleasure. You see what occurred on the finish of the spherical on the ROVAL, and I believe on the finish of the day, our on-track product is thrilling. I’m undecided a factors format for the championship goes to make or break the fanbase so far as in the event that they’ll benefit from the racing or not.”
He continued, “I really feel like we’re hyperfocusing on one thing like this. However so far as what’s honest and deserving of a champion? Nobody’s going to agree, and that’s form of the place I’ve come to.”
To drive his level house, Cindric drew from private expertise, noting he’s seen each side of the coin. He defined that underneath a full-season factors system, he would have two Xfinity titles, but with out the Playoffs format, he’d have missed the Championship 4 in his rookie Truck Collection 12 months and would have probably made the Cup playoffs solely twice as a substitute of 3 times.
“So on the finish of the day, I respectfully say that I don’t care. I don’t suppose our workforce essentially cares, as a result of we simply wish to go race, and regardless of the format is, we want to excel. That’s form of the premise of it. However I don’t actually have a powerful opinion on what I believe could be the very best or what makes probably the most sense, as a result of I believe there are execs and cons both approach,” he added.
For now, Cindric’s playoff run is within the rearview, whereas teammates Logano and Blaney sit within the backside 4 of the Spherical of 8 standings with one race left earlier than Phoenix. Final 12 months, the duo had punched their tickets to the Championship 4 with wins at Las Vegas and Martinsville, respectively. Whether or not historical past repeats itself, with one advancing on victory and the opposite on factors, stays anybody’s guess.
