Oftentimes, drivers who perform well at Daytona in a season go on to do the same at Talladega. If this holds true this weekend, the winner of February’s Daytona 500 — Cup Series rookie Austin Cindric — should be among the contenders for the victory. Cindric not only won the season opener at The World Center of Racing but did so in convincing fashion by leading 21 laps in his Team Penske Ford. Although Cindric hasn’t been as strong in any other race since his Daytona 500 triumph, the speed he carried at Daytona bodes well for his chances of a repeat at Talladega.
It also doesn’t hurt his chances that Team Penske has been the most dominant organization at Talladega in recent years, collecting nine of the last 15 Talladega trophies, thanks to the combined efforts of Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski. Cindric, of course, took over the No. 2 Team Penske car that Keselowski drove to five of his six Talladega victories. Even though this weekend’s race will be contested in a different car — the Next Gen — than the one Team Penske has been so successful with at Talladega, don’t expect a dropoff in performance by cars owned by legendary team owner Roger Penske.The Team Penske cars were as strong as ever back in February at Daytona, as evidenced by not only Cindric’s win but Blaney’s fourth-place finish, which came on the heels of leading 36 laps. In fact, Cindric and Blaney battled for the win on the final lap, with Cindric throwing a block on Blaney and others as the field raced toward the checkered flag.