DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Austin Cindric had never flipped in a stock car before Friday night, so he just did what was instinct when his Xfinity Series car did a couple of flips in an accident at Daytona International Speedway.
"I didn't know what to expect," Cindric said. "When I knew I was going over, you just accept it. I pulled my legs and pulled my arms in and just kind of held tight and closed my eyes.
"I opened my eyes and everything was happy -- happy, happy days. It was unfortunate I had to go through that experience, but you've just got to move on."
The Roush Fenway Racing driver pulled his 6-foot-3 frame out of the car following the accident, which occurred with 18 laps left in the Coca-Cola Firecracker 250.
He was hit from behind by Matt Tifft and then started tumbling after sliding into the car of Tyler Reddick. Cindric's car did two flips and then landed on all fours, bounced and landed on the deck lid of Joey Gase, who was able to drive away.
"I'm not mad," Cindric said. "Everyone's racing. That's part of it. I obviously got tagged in the left rear, and that's what started the whole thing.
"I was just focusing on trying to push [Ryan] Blaney forward, because I knew pushing him forward was me advancing myself."
Tifft said he got a big shove by Reddick before the accident.
"By that point, I was either going to get run over or try to make a move," Tifft said. "I was in a tough spot. I tried to make a hole -- there was a lane on the bottom -- and as soon as I went there, he came down to block just enough where we came together at the same time."
The son of Team Penske president Tim Cindric, Austin said he was fine. Cindric is running a full Xfinity Series schedule with races for both Roush Fenway and Team Penske.
"That was my first time ever flipping a [stock] car, so that's always an interesting experience," said Cindirc, who finished seventh in the first stage and third in the second stage. "It's unfortunate that we had [potential for] a strong day to come up short."