:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70532179/usa_today_17730860.0.jpg)
Austin Cindric ended up taking the checkered flag at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, winning the 2022 Daytona 500 on Sunday. He won the event in overtime after wreck-filled race that saw the caution flag go up seven times.
The rookie opened with +2500 odds to win the event on DraftKings Sportsbook and became the second youngest winner of the event at the age of 23.
.@AustinCindric and the @DiscountTire team get it done @DAYTONA by winning the #DAYTONA500! #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/0Cqlpfu3r9
— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) February 20, 2022
Retweet to congratulate Austin Cindric on his #DAYTONA500 win! pic.twitter.com/1MsVdRRMIJ
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 20, 2022
Cindric started the race in the No. 5 slot of the starting lineup after finishing as the runner-up in Duel No. 1 earlier in the week. He hung near the top for the duration of the race and traded first with eventual runner-up Bubba Wallace for a good chunk of the final 30 laps.
Things got murky for everyone late as two different wrecks brought out the caution flag within the final 11 laps of the Great American Race. Going into overtime, the rookie managed to establish just enough separation in the two-lap shoot to win and join the elite club of Daytona 500 winners.
He becomes the first rookie winner of the event since Trevor Bayne in 2011.