Austin Cindric‘s first career NASCAR Cup Series win came in the most dramatic and historic ways -- a victory in the 2022 Daytona 500. Last week, the driver of the Team Penske‘s No. 2 Ford was again at the front of the field in the Daytona 500.

Denny Hamlin, going for his fourth Daytona 500 victory, was involved in a crash with Josh Berry, Austin Cindric and Zane Smith on lap 63.

William Byron won his second consecutive Daytona 500, dodging a last-lap wreck that collected several contenders. The Hendrick Motorsports driver became the first back-to-back winner of The Great American Race since Denny Hamlin in 2019-20 Austin Cindric was leading heading to the white flag,

Byron shot from ninth to first on the final lap after Denny Hamlin and Austin Cindric crashed racing for the win

Denny Hamlin appeared poised for victory as he battled Austin Cindric for the lead, but a late wreck dashed his hopes, leaving him to finish 24th while William Byron claimed his second consecutive Daytona 500 win.

William Byron won his second straight Daytona 500 after a last-lap wreck took out race leader Denny Hamlin on the backstretch. Byron took over the lead when Hamlin went spinning after taking the lead from Austin Cindric on the backstretch on the final lap of a green-white-checker restart.

Last Sunday in Atlanta, Kyle Larson made an aggressive move that ended up wrecking Austin Cindric and William Byron in a familiar way. Larson took a run to clear the No. 2 car and ended up causing his NASCAR rival and his Hendrick teammate to wreck as well.

Austin Cindric receives praise from Denny Hamlin after Cindric's 'evolution' as a superspeedway racer in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Austin Cindric had a different week compared to some others after the Daytona 500 as one of those who wasn’t criticized for the moves he made. He actually received praise. One of the most notable

(AP Photo/John Raoux) Denny Hamlin (11), Austin Cindric (2), Kyle Larson (5) and Joey Logano (22) head to turn 1 during early laps of the second of two NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying auto races at Daytona International Speedway, Thursday, Feb. 13 ...

Denny Hamlin appeared poised for victory as he battled Austin Cindric for the lead, but a late wreck dashed his hopes, leaving him to finish 24th while William Byron claimed his second consecutive Daytona 500 win. Describing the result, Hamlin posted a strong reaction on X, stating "That s**ked."

While Denny Hamlin lost out on his fourth Daytona 500 win, his 23XI Racing organization had some moderate success. Tyler Reddick was runner-up on Sunday in the Great American Race, and Bubba Wallace brought home a win in his NASCAR Duel race earlier in the week.