Team Penske faced both weather disruptions and milestone moments during the Team Penske Dover NASCAR race report at Dover Motor Speedway on Sunday. Ryan Blaney surged from the back to secure his ninth top-10 finish of the season, while Joey Logano celebrated his 600th NASCAR Cup Series start as rain played a pivotal role in the event‘s outcome.
Cindric Rises from Deep in the Field
Austin Cindric, piloting the No. 2 Autotrader ford/”>Ford Mustang Dark Horse, began the Autotrader 400 deep in the lineup after Saturday’s qualifying was cancelled due to rain, forcing the field to be set by the NASCAR rulebook. Starting 26th, Cindric found early forward momentum as the track stabilized, opting for four tires, fuel, and an air pressure tweak under the competition caution at lap 35. Restarting from 23rd, he cracked the top 20 by the end of Stage 1, ultimately claiming 19th in that segment.
Building on his progress, Cindric continued to contend for positions throughout Stage 2, finishing 16th by the second segment’s conclusion. He pitted for tires and lined up 18th for the final stint. Although he reported little change in balance, a late pit stop for fresh tires and an adjustment just before a rain-caused caution at lap 338 put him in position for the race‘s closing laps. Following a red flag for heavy showers and a dramatic restart with eight laps remaining, Cindric avoided chaos to secure 16th place at the checkered flag.
“With where we had to start I’m definitely proud of the effort from everybody here on this No. 2 Autotrader Ford Mustang. We kind of just clawed our way up and we had one restart where the field got split up under green flag cycles and I got parked and pretty much lost all of the progress I had made throughout the entirety of the day. We clawed back a few there on those late restarts, but, overall, I’m happy to finish one of these a little better than we have the last few weeks, but we definitely want more.”
—Austin Cindric, Driver
Blaney Storms from the Back for Top-10 Finish
Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 Menards/Libman Ford Mustang Dark Horse endured the challenge of starting 31st but fought back to claim eighth, marking his ninth top-10 run this year. The washed-out Saturday schedule meant Blaney started deep in the field for the 400-mile contest, but he made early strides, breaking into the top 20 within 60 laps. He finished Stage 1 in 16th place before gaining ground during the Stage 2 green-flag pit cycle, ultimately entering the top 10 with 32 laps left and finishing ninth at the segment’s end.
From the restart with 140 laps left, Blaney stayed among the leaders as the threat of rain approached. Crew chief Jonathan Hassler brought him to pit road on lap 327 with the frontrunners, but a caution for rain shortly after left all but nine cars at least a lap behind, forcing Blaney to take the wave around before the restart with 57 laps remaining. Another downpour caused a 56-minute red flag with just 14 laps to go, but as action resumed, Blaney pitted for right-side tires from eighth for strategic advantage. Restarting from 11th, he navigated two hectic restarts, dodging incidents to capture eighth at the finish line.
“It was a fun day. I thought on long runs we were really good. I would have personally liked to have seen it go to the end before the rain caution came out because we had a really good long run car and I thought I might have been able to get up to fifth. We came in and got two tires, and I didn’t pick a good lane on the restart and gave a lot of track position away, but, overall, it was a good day from where we started.”
—Ryan Blaney, Driver
Logano Reaches 600 Starts, Youngest to Hit the Milestone
Joey Logano reached a rare milestone, making his 600th career NASCAR Cup Series start in the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse. Logano, now the youngest driver to achieve this feat at 35 years, one month, and 26 days, broke Richard Petty’s 52-year-old record for reaching the 600-start mark at a younger age. He became the 34th driver in history to reach the milestone, starting eighth for Sunday’s event.
Logano made early gains, advancing to sixth by the competition caution at lap 35. Despite battling rear grip issues, he maintained top-10 pace to take ninth in Stage 1. A quick four-tire service during the caution helped Logano move up a couple of spots for the restart, but as the run went on he slipped to 12th before finishing 13th in Stage 2. By lap 325, he re-entered the top 10 but was summoned to pit road with the leaders shortly after, where a speeding penalty resulted in a pass-through and dropped him two laps behind.
The timing of a caution for rain allowed Logano to take a wave around and later, heavier rain forced another red flag, with Logano one lap down in 21st position. Returning to the car ahead of the final restart, Logano took another wave around to rejoin the lead lap. Two more cautions played to his benefit as he gained ground on fresh tires, eventually finishing 14th despite the setbacks.
“It was a cool weekend reaching 600 Cup starts, just wish we had a better showing for it. We had pretty good pace throughout the day and kept working on it but that speeding penalty halted the momentum we had going. Still proud of our guys for staying with it and getting us to a decent finish at the end.”
—Joey Logano, Driver
Key Race Moments Defined by Weather and Strategy
The day at Dover Motor Speedway was dominated by unpredictable weather and rapid-fire strategy calls. With Saturday’s practice and qualifying rained out, the starting grid was set by rulebook order for notable drivers like Blaney, Logano, and Cindric. Rain, already an early factor, caused several strategic gambles, especially late in the race as pit sequences and timely cautions shuffled the order dramatically.
Stops for tires and adjustments under green often determined track position, while two significant rain events led to both a late caution that trapped much of the field a lap down and a prolonged red flag that paused the race for nearly an hour. As the clouds cleared, it was aggressive moves on fresh tires and savvy navigation of restarts that ultimately colored Team Penske’s results.
Penske Eyes Brickyard 400 after Eventful Dover Outing
The Team Penske Dover NASCAR race report showcases the group’s resilience and adaptability as they managed changing conditions and celebrated career milestones. By combining tactical pit decisions, late-race perseverance, and strategic driving, drivers like Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano demonstrated why Team Penske remains a notable contender as the NASCAR Cup Series heads to the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 27. With coverage set for 2:00 p.m. ET on TNT, IMS Radio Network, and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90, the team seeks to carry momentum into one of the season‘s spotlight events.
