Remember when Bubba Wallace got suspended by NASCAR for deliberately spinning Kyle Larson at Vegas? Or when Chase Elliott received similar treatment for wrecking Denny Hamlin at Charlotte? NASCAR set a precedent that if you wreck someone, you are suspended. But for some reason, NASCAR filled the script again in dealing with Austin Cindric after he right-reared Kaulig Racing’s Ty Dillon at COTA.
Ideally, the punishment for such an incident should have been a suspension, according to NASCAR’s precedent. However, the sanctioning body decided to deal with this situation rather differently. And unlike Elliott and Wallace, NASCAR opted to go soft on Cindric by docking 50 driver points and a $50,000 fine for losing his cool on the racetrack.
NASCAR could’ve dealt with the situation better had they parked Austin Cindric for a lap or two during the race. But, with a pending announcement, they put themselves in a tricky spot. Tricky because, unlike the previous years, the sanctioning body had to tread carefully when it came to suspending the drivers. Although Elliott got the playoff waiver after wrecking Hamlin at Charlotte, Cindric wouldn’t have received a similar treatment, thanks to changes to the waiver rule.
Drivers suspended or missing a NASCAR Cup Series race will now lead to a loss of playoff points from the 26 regular season races. Only medical and family reasons will result in a playoff waiver. If the Penske driver had been suspended he would’ve lost all his playoff points just three races into the season. And that could’ve been detrimental to his hopes of making it to the knockout stages of the competition.
One of the reasons why they opted for this version of the penalty was because the race was at a road course and not on traditional oval tracks. “Driver was traveling at a slower pace on the road course (vs an intermediate/superspeedway) Dillon had no significant impact or damage; was able to drive on. No caution.” Bob Pockrass shared this update on X.
However, the fans just couldn’t understand the logic behind the ruling. Taking to social media they called out the sanctioning body and their constant flip-flops over penalty decisions.
The Race against Consistency and Integrity
One fan commented on Bob Pockrass’s tweet as he gave details regarding Cindric penalty for this incident, and NASCAR’s reason behind it, “so the message of the day from nascar is that if any driver is looking to retaliate against someone, wait until you’re at a short track or road course, cause going slower means it’s ok.” It is important to note that Austin Dillon taking out Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin at Richmond did cost him a spot in the playoffs. NASCAR found that incident egregious enough to ban the driver but decided to let Dillon off the hook.
Mike Forde, NASCAR’s Managing Director of Racing Communications, explained how this call was made, “The reasons are, you look at it, it is at a road course. Lower speeds, tight confines to begin with. And the result didn’t even draw a caution flag…So, those were really the reasons we chose to err on the side of letting him race this weekend in Phoenix, going with a fine and a significant driver points penalty of 50 points…this was a little bit more severe, but not deserving of a one-race suspension.”
Factually speaking, Dillon’s 50-point penalty was a bit steep. Last year Carson Hocevar was only handed a 25-point penalty for deliberately sliding Harrison Burton in the wall at Nashville. This incident came when the drivers were under caution. Noah Gragson back in 2022 wrecked Sage Caram at Road America in the Xfinity Series race and was handed a 30-point penalty. So, NASCAR somewhat did rely on the past precedent but only to put Austin Cindric in a tough spot with a 50-point deduction.
Well, the fans are not buying it, with one fan commenting, “The inconsistency with this organization is just laughable at this point.” Looking at all the incidents mentioned above, there is no clear thumb rule or precedent that NASCAR follows. The case-by-case dealings of such incidents need to have some sort of a pattern, especially now that they have the new playoff waiver rule.
Some fans thought that something else was going on behind the scenes, something, let’s just say something sinister. One fan commented, “Because Roger’s check cleared,” insinuating the fact that somehow, Roger Penske, the owner of Team Penske was involved in NASCAR deviating from their set precedent, and not suspending Cindric for intentionally crashing into Dillon. The Big Brother teams seem to be in the good books of NASCAR and fans feel this is what saved Cindric from a harsh penalty.
Another fan also had a similar viewpoint, “How many 0s were on that check to NASCAR?” These comments, while being speculative, point towards the feelings that the fans have, NASCAR’s officiating is flawed and is not usually based on the precedent they have set themselves.
It will be interesting to see how NASCAR deals with a similar situation when drivers put their bumpers to use at ovals and intermediates. But for now, Team Penske and Cindric will need to find a way to crawl back up from 34th in the driver’s standings. Those calling for a harsh punishment should take a look at the leaderboards.
