NASCAR PLAYOFFS: Austin Cindric aims to burst into the Round of 12 at Bristol

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Austin Cindric booked his ticket to the NASCAR Playoffs in April when he won at Talladega.

Fast forward to this weekend and the No. 2 team is now only 11 points above the cut line as NASCAR heads to Bristol for the last race in the Round of 16.

“We’re still in a position to control our destiny with being 11 points above the cut. Bristol is definitely a treacherous track and a lot of unpredictable things have happened at that race over the last couple of years,” said Austin Cindric Driver of the No. 2 Ford.

Cindric is hoping to advance to the Round of 12 for the second year in a row, but Bristol has not been his best track.

Over the last five Bristol races, the No. 2 team has an average finish of 22nd and a best finishing spot of 13th.

New look for Bristol 🔥@Snapon_Tools https://t.co/mNyWgChLlB

— Austin Cindric (@AustinCindric) April 8, 2025

“I feel like it’s a place where we’ve been able to have solid days recently, but nothing overly stands out. I think we have all the tools of what we need to go out and run well and get the points we need,” said Cindric.

Past stats might mean less this weekend, as Goodyear is debuting a softer right-side tire built this weekend.

“Goodyear is definitely trying to make this right side tire wear more than what we did or typically do whenever we kind of get strung out under normal conditions,” said Cindric.

There are unknowns going into this weekend, especially after last spring’s race at Bristol which featured severe tire wear.

“Do we have the high tire wear that we had before? I wouldn’t even call that high tire wear, just tires coming apart in the cooler temperatures. Does that come up or not? I mean, the temperatures seem warm enough to think that it probably is kind of out of the picture for the race,” said Cindric.

With uncertainty going into the weekend, a good qualifying effort and stage points will be a premium, something the No. 2 Team believes they can accomplish.

“We’ve been super close to making it into the round of eight. The last two times that I’ve been in the playoffs. So I’d say that’s been the more frustrating thing than anything else in years past. Just how close we’ve been to kind of getting a shot to make the championship four,” said Cindric.

Despite what happens this weekend and for the rest of the playoffs, Cindric has something to look forward to after the NASCAR season is over.

Cindcric will head to the Southern Hemisphere to race in the 2025 Repco Supercars Championship Finale in Australia in November.

G'day, @AustinCindric 🇺🇸#RepcoSC #Supercars #NASCARhttps://t.co/BzRv4NDpzF

— Supercars (@supercars) September 3, 2025

“I’ve raced the Bathurst 12-hour a couple of times, but stepping into these supercars is a big step. It’s just as competitive as a Cup series, so thinking I’m going to walk in there and go out and try to win, I think that’d be I think that’d be a hell of a feat,” said Cindric.

Cindric did receive some advice from current NASCAR Cup Series driver and former Supercars driver Shane Van Gisbergen that right foot braking is a must.

“It’s a technique that I definitely have, it’s not one that I typically use often at all. It’s probably been about 10 years since I’ve actually been in a competitive race that I’ve actually right foot braked,” said Cindric.

Even with the challenge of the NASCAR playoffs and Supercars Championship Finale ahead, Cindric has his sense of humor about his trip to Australia.

“I get down there early November and I’m not out of there until December, so I might come back with an accent or something. Who knows, it should be a lot of fun and I’m really looking forward to it,” said Cindric.

You can see what unfolds on the track at Bristol this weekend when the green flag drops just after 7:30 PM.