Relationships between teammates in NASCAR are not always at their healthiest, as evidenced by the dust-up between Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs at New Hampshire. But in the same field today, there are those like Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric, who get along much more easily, as shown by Cindric’s latest comments.
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Blaney recently made a pointed remark, which could have been a dig at Joe Gibbs Racing, noting that his Team Penske teammates are likely the easiest to race in the garage, and in his view, no one does it better than them. Cindric agreed.
Even at Loudon, Blaney went wheel-to-wheel with Josh Berry, whose Wood Brothers team operates under a technical alliance with Penske. The two fought hard down the stretch but kept it clean, never letting the battle cross the line. Reflecting on it later on The Dale Jr. Download, Blaney highlighted what sets Penske apart without directly calling out anyone else.
Blaney explained that Penske and the Wood Brothers operate with unmatched cohesion. He pointed back to Phoenix last year, when he and Joey Logano raced for the title and, despite being competitors, shared the same meetings and the same discussions, working out how to finish one-two. He stressed that Roger Penske has never cared about who takes the checkered flag first, only that his cars run first and second.
Cindric reinforced the point recently during the media session ahead of the Kansas race. “I think we’re all very conscious of each other’s scenarios. Obviously, Joey had a really good week, but he still needs points. Ryan won. I’ve got to have two really great weeks, and obviously, Josh is out of the playoffs,” he said, per Speedway Digest.
Cindric added that he has been in that role before, figuring out how best to help teammates. As he explained with an example, even something like five bonus points could swing the standings and put Blaney into the Round of 8 as the leader, so nothing can be taken for granted, and Cindric would never try to take that away from him.
“I don’t think that’s fair, so I think we have to go out and do this the right way, but I think probably like no other team does, we have those conversations about what to do, what’s the right thing to do, how to take care of each other. Like I said, even Joey and I racing for the same real estate here, we still have to take care of each other, so I think that’s all very important.”
The 27-year-old closed by saying the strength of their bond lies in alignment. With everyone in the room on the same page, Penske drivers head into tight battles knowing exactly what’s expected, as they “are definitely on the same page”, which makes every situation clearer and easier to manage.
