Quaker State 400 - EchoPark Speedway
Hampton, Ga. - June 28, 2025
AUSTIN CINDRIC No. 2 MENARDS/QUAKER STATE FORD MUSTANG
START: 4TH
STAGE 1: 1ST
STAGE 2: 38TH
FINISH: 38TH
POINTS: 15TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Austin Cindric and the No. 2 Menards/Quaker State Ford Mustang Dark Horse team asserted themselves as early contenders, running inside the top five throughout the opening stint of Saturday night's Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway before a Stage 2 incident ended their night. Cindric rolled off from the fourth position after all three Team Penske cars and the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing entry locked out the top four starting spots in qualifying. The quartet held steady up front through the opening 20 laps, controlling the early pace of the race. Running second on Lap 36, Cindric reported the No. 2 Ford was tight finishing the corner and needed more security to maintain entry speed as light rain brought out the caution, prompting a brief red flag period. When the race returned to yellow-flag conditions, Cindric and teammate Joey Logano stayed out, restarting on the front row. Cindric surged to the lead on the restart and traded the top spot with Logano a couple times as the outside and inside lanes swapped momentum. A caution for a multi-car incident with three laps remaining in Stage 1 ended the segment, with Cindric scored atop the leaderboard, accumulating valuable points. Cindric noted the car felt better in clean air before pitting for four tires, fuel and a small adjustment to aid stability. He restarted 17th to begin Stage 2, but just 10 laps later, the 26-year-old driver was involved in a multi-car crash that resulted in terminal damage and ended his night with a 38th-place finish.
CINDRIC'S THOUGHTS: "A lot of cars wrecking in the middle of the straightaway, which here you kind of more expect it in the middle of the corners, but maybe just a push gone wrong. It's hard to say. I had a small chance to get through a gap there, but obviously it didn't work out. It's a shame. Obviously, we had a super fast Quaker State/Menards Ford Mustang. We wanted to keep the thing out front. I was looking forward to it because we got back in traffic with staying out to win the stage, but I was looking forward to see what our car was going to do in dirty air and see what final adjustments we needed to make and have that opportunity to learn there. It's just a shame and a shame for everybody at Team Penske bringing such fast cars and all of them wreck out."
RYAN BLANEY No. 12 ADVANCE AUTO PARTS FORD MUSTANG
START: 3RD
STAGE 1: 40TH
STAGE 2: 40TH
FINISH: 40TH
POINTS: 7TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang Dark Horse were collected in a multi-car incident on lap 57 to bring an abrupt end to their run in Saturday night's Quaker State 400. Blaney took the green flag from third to begin the 260-lap event and maintained top-five pace before rainfall brought the field to a stop on lap 42. Following a short delay, Blaney hit pit road for four tires and a round of adjustments prior to restarting with 12 laps remaining in Stage 1. With under five laps to go in the opening segment, a multi-car incident unraveled in turn three ahead of Blaney - who darted to the apron in an attempt to avoid the wreck - but was clipped in the right rear by the No. 3 and turned into the outside wall in turn four, ultimately bringing an end to the 12 team's night.
BLANEY'S THOUGHTS: "I saw a couple guys spinning and slowing. I got to the apron and there was really nowhere else for me to go but the apron. I tried to get there and get clear of it, but they kind of came down and got me in the right rear and I ended up in the fence. There was no missing that one."
JOEY LOGANO No. 22 AUTOTRADER FORD MUSTANG
START: 1ST
STAGE 1: 3RD
STAGE 2: 34TH
FINISH: 35TH
POINTS: 11TH
RACE RUNDOWN: After earning his 32nd-career NASCAR Cup Series pole Friday afternoon, Joey Logano and the No. 22 Autotrader Ford Mustang Dark Horse's run in the Quaker State 400 came to a halt after getting collected in a 19-car incident during the opening laps of Stage 2. Logano led a majority of the opening, 60-lap stage with his teammates in tow before rainfall brought out the red flag on lap 42. Following a brief delay, Logano and teammate Austin Cindric took the restart from the front row with 12 laps to go in Stage 1 and jockeyed for the lead before a caution with four laps remaining saw Logano scored third as the segment ended under caution. A four tire stop during the stage break resulted in Logano taking the restart from 16th before the No. 11 was sent spinning from the top lane and into the rest of the field on the backstretch to set off the biggest incident of the night, collecting the No. 22 in the process. Logano was able to drive the Autotrader Ford back to pit road, but the damage sustained was ultimately deemed terminal as the 22 team's night came to an end.
LOGANO'S THOUGHTS: "Basically, what I saw there, I didn't realize there were that many cars in it, but it wrecked the whole field. I still don't know exactly how it started, but it was total chaos. Cars were sideways and on the brakes. I got hit from every corner possible. I was right in the middle of the whole thing. It's a real bummer. What do you do? It's just part of the game sometimes. You get caught up in something you couldn't do anything about. The Autotrader Mustang wasn't too bad. It had speed. We were going to have to work on handling, no doubt, but it hurts to see so many of our cars - all of them were lights out - none of them are even running anymore."
The NASCAR Cup Series returns to the streets of Chicago for the Grant Park 165 on Sunday, July 6. Coverage from the Chicago Street Course begins at 2:00 p.m. ET on TNT and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.