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Austin Cindric seeking fourth straight NXS win at Kansas

By Reid Spencer-NASCAR Wire Service
Posted 6:00AM on Saturday 25th July 2020 ( 3 years ago )

When he took the green flag at Kentucky Speedway on July 9, Austin Cindric had no NASCAR Xfinity Series victories on oval tracks.

When he took the checkered flag later that evening, he had his first. A day later at Kentucky he had his second, becoming the first driver to win races on consecutive days in the same series since Richard Petty accomplished the feat in the Cup Series in 1971 at two different tracks.

Last Saturday, Cindric picked up his third consecutive oval victory when ostensible winner Kyle Busch was disqualified for a ride-height infraction. NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin is the only other Ford driver to have won three straight Xfinity Series races, a feat he accomplished at Rockingham, Richmond and Atlanta in 1997.

On Saturday, Cindric will try for a fourth straight win in the Kansas Lottery 250 at Kansas Speedway. That would tie the series record for consecutive victories set by Sam Ard at South Boston, Martinsville, Orange County and Charlotte in 1983.

From a manufacturer’s standpoint, Ford can win its sixth straight race. Though Cindric and Chase Briscoe are the only two Ford drivers in the field, they have combined to win the last five Xfinity events. Not surprisingly, they also are the top two drivers in the series standings, with Briscoe, a five-time winner, leading Cindric by 24 points.

It’s not all about Ford, though. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver Brandon Jones is the defending winner, and he righted his ship with a seventh-place finish last Saturday at Texas after four straight results in the 30s, with three DNFs for crashes and another for an oil line issue.

“For me, this track is fun, because the groove moves up near the wall, so it allows you to move around the track and adjust your line during the race,” said Jones, whose victory at Kansas last year was his first in the Xfinity Series.

WDUN will carry live MRN Radio coverage of Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series Kansas Lottery 250 beginning at 4:30 pm on 102.9 FM, AM 550 and streaming live on AccessWDUN.

NASCAR Xfinity Series
Next Race: Kansas Lottery 250
The Place: Kansas Speedway
The Date: Saturday, July 25
The Time: 5 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN, 4:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 2500.5 miles (167 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 40), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 80), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 167)
2019 Race Winner: Brandon Jones
What To Watch For: This Saturday will mark the 20th time the NASCAR Xfinity Series has competed at Kansas Speedway. The inaugural series event took place on September 29, 2001 and was won by former series champion Jeff Green. … The 19 Xfinity races at Kansas have produced 15 different pole winners and 15 different race winners. … Matt Kenseth leads the series in poles at Kansas with three (2006, 2007, 2015). … Kyle Busch leads the series in wins (four), top fives (eight), top 10s (10) and laps led (544) at Kansas. … Joey Logano hold the series record for the youngest winner at Kansas at the age of 19 years, 4 months, 9 days (10/03/2009) and David Green is the oldest at 45 years, 8 months, 6 days (10/04/2003). … Over the last three seasons a driver has won their first NASCAR Xfinity Series career race at Kansas Speedway – Brandon Jones (2019), John Hunter Nemechek (2018) and Christopher Bell (2017).

Austin Cindric celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Kentucky Speedway on July 10, 2020. Photo: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

http://accesswdun.com/article/2020/7/923147/austin-cindric-seeking-fourth-straight-nxs-win-at-kansas

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