Austin Cindric victorious again at Phoenix

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Austin Cindric held off Justin Allgaier and the rest of the field in the Call 811 Before You Dig 200 Saturday at Phoenix Raceway Saturday to claim his second win of the 2021 season.

Cindric led 119 laps, including the last 54, to pick up his 10th career win in the series.

Cindric, the defending Xfinity Series champion, has now won the last two races at Phoenix Raceway.

“They never come easy,” Cindric said of winning. “This is a really important track this season and I am pumped for this team.”

In his second career Xfinity Series start, Ty Gibbs finished runner-up to Cindric.

“It was a learning experience more than anything,” Gibbs said. “I’m just learning how these things race on the ovals, but I’m very thankful to be here.”

In third place, Brandon Brown posted a career-best finish

“It was one of those things where we had to race all day, fight all day,” Brown said of his race to The Racing Experts. “…This is what potential sponsors need to see.”

Riley Herbst and A.J. Allmendinger rounded out the Top-5 finishers.

THROUGH THE FIELD
Jeb Burton, Bayley Currey, Justin Allgaier, Brett Moffitt and Jeremy Clements rounded out the Top-10 finishers.

Daniel Hemric, who led 44 laps, ultimately finished 23rd.

Blaine Perkins, in his series debut, finished 24th.

While running inside the Top-10, Brandon Jones, the March 2020 Phoenix winner, crashed on lap 166, after getting spun from A.J. Allmendinger. He ultimately finished 33rd.

OUTLOOK
Austin Cindric remains the points leader leaving the Phoenix race. Hemric is second in points (-47), Burton is third (-76), Allmendinger is fourth (-76) and Burton is fifth (-76).

The next scheduled race for the Xfinity Series is at Atlanta Motor Speedway next Saturday (Mar. 20).

SOURCES
Racing-Reference.info