Austin Cindric slips late wreck at Daytona, earns spot in NASCAR Chase

DAYTONA BEACH — As an observer, Austin Cindric enjoyed watching Ryan Preece punch his own ticket into NASCAR's Cup Series playoffs . That doesn't mean it came without a little bit of stress, and a lot of communication, before the two-lap overtime period began.

Cindric had all the information he needed as it pertained to fuel and, more importantly, how it pertained to points. He held on for a sixth-place Coke Zero Sugar 400 finish at Daytona International Speedway, good enough to secure one of the final spots into the 16-driver postseason field.

"I know it might sound weird, but it was kind of fun to watch," Cindric said of Preece's victory. "The guy drove a hell of a race, and wins because of it. That doesn't happen at these (events) super often."

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Cindric is one of six playoff qualifiers without a win from the season's 26 races, along with Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, Chris Buescher, William Byron and Bubba Wallace. The 27-year-old entered the night with a 44-point gap above the cut line, thanks to five previous top-10s and 113 stage points.

That nearly was rendered moot as Carson Hocevar lost control off Turn 2 with eight laps left, skidding back up the race track from below the yellow line and barely missing Cindric's rear quarter panel.

"There are two types of drivers in this world, and I can promise you that I'm one of them: There's guys that live for wrecks, and there's guys that don't live for wrecks," Cindric said. "I've hit really hard because I'm not looking for wrecks, and I've missed stuff like that because I'm not looking for wrecks."

Trouble at the front of the field! @CarsonHocevar goes for a slide and gets into the wall. pic.twitter.com/aBCUAfXnOq

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 30, 2026 Instead, Cindric booked his fourth playoff appearance in five years as a Cup Series regular. Penske teammates Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano secured their spots well ahead of the regular-season finale.

Shane van Gisbergen missed out on the Chase despite capturing checkered flags at Watkins Glen and Sonoma and winning the first stage of the Coke Zero Sugar 400, passing Buescher as he slid through the infield grass just before the line.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Austin Cindric slips late wreck at Daytona, earns spot in NASCAR Chase

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