Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, and Austin Cindric, all three Team Penske drivers, are playoff-bound this season. Cindric, in particular, has shown flashes of real speed on several occasions, but recent numbers suggest he has been trailing his teammates in the finishing order.
Advertisement
Blaney, Logano, and Josh Berry (of Wood Brothers Racing, which maintains a technical alliance with Penske) have been their organizations’ top finishers 14, 5, and 5 times, respectively. By contrast, Cindric has managed the feat only once, in his Talladega victory.
That statistic has fueled criticism from fans who believe Cindric has underperformed. X (formerly Twitter) was flooded with comments, many of them harsh. In a way, several of them called out the Penske driver.
One fan wrote, “Proof that Cindric is a**, only time he’s beaten both his teammates was when he won Talladega.” That was Cindric’s only victory of the season. So, it could be said that the fan had a point.
Proof that Cindric is ass, only time hes beaten both his teammates was when he won Talladega
— ThatRacingFan (@ThatRacingFan87) August 22, 2025
“Austin Cindric’s win is the only time he beat his teammates,” another fan added with laughing emojis, emphasizing that Blaney and Logano are miles ahead.
With the Regular Season coming to a close, here’s a refresher on how many times ever driver has been the best-finisher among their teammates so far this season: pic.twitter.com/8mcABLK2Q2
— Daniel Céspedes (@_DanielCespedes) August 22, 2025
A third fan piled on, remarking, “Not a good look for the nepo babies at Penske/JGR lol.” It was a jab referencing Cindric’s lineage as the son of former Team Penske president Tim Cindric and grandson of former IndyCar team owner and Red Roof Inn founder Jim Trueman.
Not a good look for the nepo babies at Penske/JGR lol
— Shedeur QB1? (@believeland2525) August 22, 2025
Other NASCAR teams’ best finishers
Among Hendrick Motorsports drivers, Kyle Larson leads the pack with nine races where he outperformed all his teammates. William Byron follows closely with eight, Chase Elliott has topped his teammates in five, while Alex Bowman, still outside the playoff grid, has managed three.
At Joe Gibbs Racing, Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell each hold eight races ahead of their teammates, Chase Briscoe has seven, and Ty Gibbs trails with just two. Over at 23XI Racing, Bubba Wallace sits on top with 12 races better than Tyler Reddick, while Reddick has 10. Corey Heim and Riley Herbst have only managed one and two, respectively, in 25 starts.
In Richard Childress Racing, Kyle Busch has outperformed Austin Dillon in 14 races, though Dillon, secured in the playoffs with his Richmond win, has finished ahead of Busch in 11.
The most surprising figures come from RFK Racing, where Chris Buescher holds the edge with 13 races better than 2012 Cup champion Brad Keselowski and Ryan Preece. At Spire Motorsports, Carson Hocevar leads the way, while at Trackhouse Racing, Ross Chastain has 11 races better than Shane van Gisbergen, Daniel Suarez, and Connor Zilisch, who in turn have six, seven, and one, respectively, over their teammates.
