By David Morgan, Associate Editor
INDIANAPOLIS – When all of the dust settled at the end of Sunday’s Verizon 200 at the Brickyard, a trio of NASCAR Cup Series rookies drove like veterans to bring home a top-five finish.
For all three of the rookies — Austin Cindric, Harrison Burton, and Todd Gilliland — it came down to being in the right place at the right time on the final restart as the race on the 2.439-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course was pushed into overtime.
The feat by Cindric, Burton, and Gilliland marked the first time since 1994 that three rookies have finished in the top-five in a Cup Series race.
Cindric, who started the day in second-place, faded to mid-pack through the first two stages, but as the laps wound down, the No. 2 Team Penske Ford was back in the mix.
On the final restart, Cindric dove to the bottom as the field charged into Turn 1, escaping out the other side of the chaos in second-place. Then Ross Chastain entered the fray after taking the access road, bulldozing his way into the lead over Tyler Reddick.
As Chastain and Reddick battled it out, it looked as if Cindric was in the catbird seat should those two get tangled up. Reddick would eventually shake off Chastain’s attack, dropping him right in Cindric’s lap. Cindric and Chastain raced each other hard over the final lap, with Chastain crossing the line in second and Cindric in third.
Then came the call from NASCAR that Chastain’s move was illegal, allowing Cindric to advance up to the runner-up position – his best finish since winning the Daytona 500 at the start of the season.
“That was nuts,” Cindric said. “Oh my gosh. I hope the race fans enjoyed that. Obviously, those green-white-checkereds it’s just caution out the window and everyone has fenders and bumpers to use, I guess. A lot to take in, a lot to handle. I’m glad we survived it all. It’s probably not the day I wanted with the Discount Tire Ford Mustang, but to come away with a good finish we’ll take it.”
Burton was also able to escape the fray of the final restart unscathed, piloting his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford into the top-five with a clear view of the leader’s battle out in front of him. He clicked off two clean laps afterwards and when all was said and done, was scored third on the leaderboard – the best finish of his Cup career.
Starting back in 13th and finishing the first stage in the top-10, Burton noted…
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