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Austin Cindric gets tagged by Supercars Grand Final contender Chaz Mostert

JHby: Jonathan Howard9 hours agoJondean25

A tough go of things in Austin Cindric’s first full-length Supercars race in Adelaide. He finished P23 in a somewhat disappointing result. Not only did Cindric take contact from one of the Grand Final contenders, but he then found himself smacking a tire barrier afterwards. He would finish multiple laps down in the end.

Austin Cindric is not having his Shane van Gisbergen moment in Australia. What the New Zealander was able to do by winning his Cup Series debut at Chicago in 2023 remains one of the most impressive feats in motorsports this century. Supercars drivers like Will Brown and Brodie Kostecki, champions of the series, haven’t been able to replicate that result in NASCAR, either.

While trying to make it to the end of the race, Cindric ran into the buzzsaw that was Chaz Mostert. The Grand Final driver was on a warpath to finish as high as he could in the standings. He managed to fly up to P2 to make the championship race going into Sunday a nail-biter with Broc Feeney, who won on Saturday.

Mostert was trying to round the corner and just drove into Cindric. It appears the NASCAR driver even attempted to get out of the racing line. That did not matter.

After suffering damage to his shock and then hitting the tire barrier, Austin Cindric was limping to the end. He would finish only 71 of 78 laps in the race. Meanwhile, Feeney extended his points lead with a win. He has 23 points over Mostert as the two face off on Sunday. Will Brown and Kai Allen are 76 and 88 points behind Feeney. They will need a miracle to contend with the other two Grand Final drivers.

This trip is to learn, get better, and perhaps take lessons from Australia and Supercars back to the United States. However, this weekend hasn’t been the most merciful on Cindric. In the sprint race, a downpour made conditions extremely sketchy. Then, he gets hit by a championship-contender while trying to make all of the laps.

So, it hasn’t been the storybook trip like some may have expected for Austin Cindric. I wasn’t really sure what to expect from Cindric in his first Supercars weekend. It is a difficult series with very talented drivers. When you see Cindric’s result, it is easy to say it’s disappointing. But Will Brown has raced three times in NASCAR, twice in Cup, once in the O’Reilly Series. He has only finished one race and that was a P31 at Sonoma with mechanical issues.

Going to another country, another series, in a car you don’t know, is difficult. It doesn’t matter who you are. Even champions have issues adapting to new series. Brodie Kostecki, who has ARCA experience, finished P22 in the 2023 Indy Road Course race. I hate to belabor the point, but it reinforces the hype behind SVG. What he’s been able to do, in the time he’s been able to do it, is remarkable.