Right off the bat, within the first ten laps at Phoenix, we saw what kind of race it was shaping up to be when the first caution flag waved. Derek Kraus got into a spin, taking Austin Cindric and Austin Dillon with him in a tangle on the backstretch, all happening by lap 7. It turns out that Cindric didn’t point fingers at anyone else for the mishap. He owned up, saying it all went sideways because he didn’t nail the qualifying.

Austin Cindric takes complete responsibility for his early exit

Austin Dillon’s luck seemed to have run out again, as he found himself in a wreck early on for the third time in just four races this season. Following the crash, it was clear Cindric’s Ford was too damaged to continue, marking an early exit for him.

The team informed Cindric that his car was gone. The mishap unfolded back in the pack, sparked when Derek Kraus rode the yellow line too closely. The move caused his #16 Chevy to lose control and spin. In the chaos, both Cindric and Dillon were caught off guard by the smoke from Kraus’s spin, leading them straight into the mix-up with no escape route. Ironically, Kraus’s car, which started it all, ended up with the least damage.

Cindric, who’s been with Team Penske for three years, saw his #2 Ford Mustang take a beating with some severe suspension damage, marking his first did-not-finish [DNF] for the season. He ended up at the back of the pack in P36, hoping no post-race inspections would add to his woes. However, despite whatever happened, Cindric didn’t point fingers at the wreck that took him out of contention.

He shared, “Hard to say! I mean, I was caught three wide and couldn’t see in the smoke, and yeah slipped, and the left right broke the suspension. […] I felt like I got hit twice, and I knew the #3 was on my inside, so I thought he was going to fall, and he came back up. It’s just just a product of not qualifying well.”

While Christopher Bell from JGR nabbed their first win of the season, newcomer Derek Kraus found himself spinning out early in the race. After the dust settled, Kraus shared some insights into what went down with his car’s handling during a chat afterward.

Derek Kraus who navigated his way from Truck to Cup cars wasn’t very happy with the handling

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Derek Kraus, who climbed up from the Truck Series to Xfinity and now to Cup cars, isn’t too thrilled with how the Cup cars handle. The Kaulig Racing driver was clear about the stark contrast between driving a Cup car and anything else he’s driven.

“I’d say 10–15 times worse than anything I’ve ever driven. It’s pretty frustrating because you just catch people and you can’t pass. You can be a lot faster than somebody, catch them and you can’t pass. I thought trucks were bad, but these are pretty bad in traffic.”

Richard Childress’ Grandson Wrecks Out Yet Again, Ending Austin Cindric’s Phoenix Run Prematurely

Yet, Kraus didn’t throw in the towel, acknowledging the steep learning curve ahead. He acknowledged it’s all part of the game; gotta learn to dance with this beast. He added that since others are managing, so it’s on him to catch up and figure it out.