Austin Cindric has won his first Cup Series race since the 2022 Daytona 500 in a wild turn of events.
Ryan Blaney was in the lead at World Wide Technology Raceway with two laps remaining in the race, and it appeared that he would win for the first time since Martinsville last October. However, he suddenly slowed before taking the white flag and proclaimed "I'm out of gas" over the radio.
Cindric passed Blaney, took the white flag, and went on to win his first non-superspeedway race at NASCAR's top level. He punched his ticket back to the playoffs and posted only his second top-10 finish of the season. Cindric snapped an 85-race winless streak in the process.
MORE: WWT Raceway Cup Series results
Denny Hamlin crossed the finish line second. Brad Keselowski, Tyler Reddick, and Joey Logano all posted top-five finishes. Blaney coasted to the start-finish line and ended the day 24th.
Blaney was not the only driver to suddenly miss out on the possible win. Christopher Bell experienced major issues of his own.
Bell had the best car in the field, one that he used to sweep the first two stages. He worked his way through the field during the final stage and began challenging Blaney for the lead. He pulled ahead momentarily and then lost the lead to Blaney, who used a crossover move.
Bell then began suddenly losing positions as he came over the radio and said that his car was "blowing up." Crew chief Adam Stevens told Bell to stay out of third gear and try to limp the car to the end of the race. Bell crossed the line seventh after receiving assistance from Martin Truex Jr., who was multiple laps behind the leaders.
Stage 1: Christopher Bell won stage 1 after passing Michael McDowell on Lap 41. McDowell, Ryan Blaney, Austin Cindric, Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Ty Gibbs, Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano, and Chase Elliott all finished the stage inside the top 10.
Stage 2: Kyle Larson spun while racing Kyle Busch on the final lap of stage 2. They both crashed and brought out the caution. Christopher Bell won stage 2 under caution. Austin Cindric, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Chase Briscoe, Carson Hocevar, Austin Dillon, and Denny Hamlin were all top 10.
Notable: Kyle Busch had not finished worse than second in the first two Cup races at World Wide Technology Raceway. He had an average finish of 1.5 and one win on his stat sheet. He crashed after contact with Kyle Larson and finished 35th.
What's next: Cup Series teams head to the West Coast for a doubleheader weekend with the Xfinity Series. They will compete at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday, June 9 (3:30 p.m. ET on Fox).