The Talladega race day proved bittersweet for Team Penske, even though Austin Cindric ultimately brought home the checkered flag, given the team also faced setbacks. Yet, what stole the spotlight was Joey Logano’s fiery reaction to Cindric’s misstep at the end of Stage 2.
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Logano, who had initially finished fifth, was disqualified after his car failed post-race inspection for violating rule 14.5.8E regarding the spoiler, as his car was found missing a spoiler bolt. Meanwhile, Ryan Blaney’s day ended early following a Stage 1 mishap that forced him out of contention.
As the second stage drew to a close, Cindric, leading the pack, was forced to lift and fall out of line, handing Bubba Wallace the opportunity to snatch the stage win. Logano crossed the line second, with Kyle Larson third and Cindric slipping back to fourth. Despite his strong finish, Logano was seething over the radio, lambasting Cindric for handing the stage victory to a Toyota.
He fumed, “Way to go Austin, way to go, you dumb f**k! Way to f***ing go. What a stupid s**t. You just gave it to him. Gave a Toyota a stage win. Nice job. Way to go. What a dumba**. Put that in the book again.”
Later, during the post-race media session, Cindric was asked about the incident — about Logano’s anger with him over handing the stage win to the #23, and how after the race he seemed to cool off, simply saying he was “glad to see one of us win it”. However, Cindric addressed the situation with composure.
When asked how long such tensions last between teammates and whether they require internal discussions, Cindric admitted that many team meetings often revolve around such matters, emphasizing the importance of keeping an eye on the bigger picture.
Cindric stated, “I can understand his frustration without kind of seeing the whole picture. These are the types of things that when you’re expecting someone to have your best interest, those are the challenges, right? We have a lot of meetings centered around that. I feel like it requires constant maintenance. It’s not always pretty. The conversations aren’t always easy.”
He explained that in the Stage 2 situation, he felt boxed in and was trying to avoid wrecking the cars in front of him, including Logano’s. It was, as he put it, “a messy end to the stage”, and he believed that among himself, Josh Berry, and Logano, they probably could have played it smarter, but ultimately let one slip through their fingers.
Austin Cindric did emphasize that, as a team, they still manage such situations better than most. He added that he and Logano would certainly sit down to discuss how to handle it more effectively, understand each other’s perspectives, and come out stronger on the other side.
