‘We Don’t Care How Popular We Are’: NASCAR Official Fires Back in Face of Criticism After Austin Cindric Penalty

On Wednesday, NASCAR hit Team Penske’s Austin Cindric with a fine of $50,000 and docked 50 points from his tally. The penalty was in response to him intentionally wrecking the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet of Ty Dillon during last Sunday’s race in the Circuit of the Americas. Mike Forde detailed the promotion’s decision on a recent episode of Hauler Talk.

Forde is the managing director of racing communications at NASCAR. The penalty was viewed as inconsistent decision-making on multiple grounds. For one, hooking the right rear of a fellow competitor’s vehicle to wreck has been a suspension-worthy offense in previous seasons. Bubba Wallace was sent off for wrecking Kyle Larson in 2022 (Las Vegas).

Chase Elliott was sent off for wrecking Denny Hamlin in 2023 (Charlotte). The question is why Cindric wasn’t suspended. Forde explained that the drivers were racing at slow speeds, considering it was a road course race, and that Cindric’s move did not even warrant a caution.

With these factors in mind, officials had decided that the offense wasn’t extreme enough to suspend him. But they were also aware that the choice might not sit well with fans.

Forde said, “When I hit social media after this penalty is announced, my guess is that there are going to be several people who feel this is the wrong call.”

“And it may not be the popular call, but when we look at penalties, we do not really care how popular we are. We try to do the right thing here.” According to the new rules instituted by NASCAR, all playoff points earned in the regular season will be removed in the event of a suspension.

It would have been a huge blow for Cindric and the No. 2 team. Fortunately, the promotion chose to deliver a favorable verdict. Fans, however, are far from pleased with all the volatility. They are not sure when a driver will be suspended for such wrecks and when he will not be. All this is on top of accusations that the promotion already doesn’t follow its own rules.

This was the first test of NASCAR’s new waiver rule that removes all playoff points for the regular season in the event of a suspension. From my view, NASCAR made an inconsistent ruling that raises more questions about when RR hooks are suspension-worthy and when they aren’t. https://t.co/4wjdMfblau

— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) March 5, 2025

NASCAR came under heavy fire recently for its inconsistency in deciding whether or not a caution will be thrown in the event of a wreck in the final lap of a race. It was forced to admit its mistake following a faulty decision in the Xfinity Series race in Atlanta. More similar showings continue to deteriorate the confidence that fans have in it.