DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Teamwork between unlikely friends on the final lap of the first Bluegreen Vacations Duel at Daytona ultimately gave Austin Cindric a place in the Daytona 500 field.
In the process, it led to heartbreak for Ty Dillon and the No. 96 Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota team.
Cindric, who lost a lap during the second half of the 150-mile Duel qualifying race due to a pit road speeding penalty, found Ryan Preece in the draft as the field took the white flag Thursday night.
He placed the nose of his Team Penske-prepared Ford Mustang against the bumper of Preece’s JTG Daugherty Racing-wrenched Chevrolet and the duo charged forward with a full head of steam.
Rounding the final corner coming to the finish line, Preece’s momentum on the outside lane was enough to get side-by-side with Dillon for fifth place. Then, when Daniel Suarez bailed out from behind Dillon, the die was cast.
Preece surged ahead at the flagstand, nipping Dillon for the position by .038 seconds.
Even though he had already locked in on speed Wednesday during qualifying, Preece was officially credited as racing his way into the Daytona 500 by the event rulebook, locking Dillon out of the field.
Dillon’s heartbreak was Cindric’s joy, as Preece’s effort allowed Cindric to fall back on his qualifying time as the next eligible car on speed, putting the defending NASCAR Xfinity Series champion in the field for his first start in The Great American Race.
It was a radical swing of emotions for the 22-year-old, who thought his mistake earlier in the race might have left him on the outside looking in during his Speedweeks debut at the Cup level.
“(Up until the last lap), I’d never felt so small in my life,” said Cindric. “I felt like I did all the hard things right, all the things I didn’t know how to do … but it was a little thing that got me. I just launched a little too early leaving pit road. From there, I tried to merge into the pack knowing the 37 (Preece) was my best chance of getting in. My only other chance to get in was the 36 being highest in the second Duel.
“Once I got lined up behind the 37, whether he knew it or not I was going to push him as hard as I could, and I locked on (to him) down the back straightaway,” Cindric added. “Got him to the line (ahead) by a couple hundredths. Some days it’s just your day, I guess.”
Cindric tipped that while he didn’t believe Preece knew how the advancement rules worked late in the race, he certainly did and executed his plan to perfection.
“If I’d had a radio to him, I would have told him I would buy him modified tires, dinner, whatever he needed,” joked Cindric. “But I don’t think he really knew the scenario. Even when I talked to him on pit road after the Duel, I don’t think he understood what the scenario was there. I guess because of that, you can assure everyone there was no bias, but I was definitely trying to get linked up (with him).
“On the final lap, I knew that I was behind him and had a chance to shove him. No matter what was happening in the lanes in front of me … I was pushing,” Cindric continued. “I never lifted. That was what my job was. It obviously worked out for the best.”
Asked if he felt he had gotten a gift with his berth in the Daytona 500 field, Cindric gave an affirmative.
“In some ways I feel lucky. The scenario in which it had to play out was very specific,” Cindric explained. “The 37 got trapped on the top. When the 96 (Dillon) went down to the middle lane in three and four, I shoved for all I could. Obviously Ty drove a really great race. I think he outdrove what he was driving, put himself in a great position. It’s unfortunate, because he’s definitely a veteran of the series.
“I think he deserves to be in the race, but like I said, some days it’s your day and some days it isn’t.”
For the second year in a row in the Bluegreen Vacations Duels, it wasn’t Gaunt Brothers Racing’s day, with the No. 96 Toyota Camry team failing to qualify for The Great American Race once again.
Last year, it was Daniel Suarez who was crashed out while trying to race his way into the show.
This time, Dillon did all he could, and came up excruciatingly short by a handful of inches.
“It hurts, that’s for sure,” said Dillon, whose sixth-place Duel finish was the highest ever for a driver who failed to make the Daytona 500 field. “It’s been just unique this off-season for me, with the ups and downs that I’ve been through. It’s a blessing to get to drive a race car in NASCAR, first of all, and to get so close to being in the Daytona 500 again.
“It’s tough. I have to thank Johnny Morris and Marty Gaunt, as well as everyone from Toyota. This is the opportunity of a lifetime to continue to drive race cars,” Dillon added. “I believe in myself that I can get it done in these races, and to finish sixth and not get any reward for it is hard. I’ll get the great reward of spending time with my kids on Sunday and we’ll probably watch the race, but it definitely hurts.”
As for Cindric, he’ll turn his focus toward two things: his day job in the Xfinity Series on Saturday, and then Sunday’s 63rd running of the Daytona 500.
“I got a race on Saturday. To be honest, I haven’t watched a single lap of Daytona 500 footage yet. That prep starts now,” Cindric told SPEED SPORT. “I’ve got a couple days to do that and get myself ready.
“Right now, my priority now shifts to Saturday and trying to start off the season right there.