Austin Cindric Tops NASCAR Xfinity Series Practice at Indianapolis

By David Morgan, Associate Editor

INDIANAPOLIS – Anytime the NASCAR Xfinity Series visits a road course, Austin Cindric is always a threat and Friday at Indianapolis, it was business as usual for him as he topped the board in practice for Saturday’s running of the Pennzoil 150.

“It’s definitely good,” Cindric said. “If I’ve learned anything in my NASCAR career, it’s that practice doesn’t matter. It certainly shows we have a fast Ford Mustang. It’s a pretty important weekend for me and my team, so it’s good to check that box, but still a lot more to accomplish this weekend and still a lot more we need to execute.

“Fun to be here running double-duty. Tomorrow’s going to be a pretty busy day for me, so I’m excited to get going.”

“[Winning] is certainly the goal this weekend. To get Roger [Penske] a win at his race track is incredibly important for me. Obviously my history and my family’s history with this race track is pretty significant, so it would mean quite a lot to me and my family if we can do it.”

JR Motorsports driver Sam Mayer, clocked in second fastest, with Justin Haley rounding out the top-three. Kevin Harvick, who is running double duty in a BJ McLeod Motorsports entry in an effort to gain more track time ahead of Sunday’s Cup race finished Xfinity practice in fourth, followed by AJ Allmendinger, Riley Herbst, Noah Gragson, Jeb Burton, Ty Gibbs, and Alex Labbe.

NTT IndyCar Series star Sage Karam, who is making his first start in the Xfinity Series this weekend for Jordan Anderson Racing timed in 12^th during the 50-minute practice session.

The Xfinity Series will set the field for their race with qualifying at 10:05 am on Saturday, followed by a 4:00 pm start for the Pennzoil 150, a 62 lap race around the infield road course at Indianapolis.