Cindric penalized after COTA; No. 5 Hendrick team hit with suspensions

NASCAR penalized Austin Cindric, driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford, on Wednesday after an incident between him and Ty Dillon in last Sunday‘s Cup Series race at Circuit of The Americas. NASCAR also hit the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team with two pit crew suspensions after a lost wheel during the race.

Early in Sunday‘s race, Cindric contacted the right rear of Dillon‘s No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet, sending Dillon spinning down the frontstretch. NASCAR deemed Cindric‘s move to fall into the category of intentionally wrecking another vehicle under Sections 4.4 B&D: NASCAR Member Code of Conduct Penalty Options and Guidelines.

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As a result, Cindric lost 50 driver points and was fined $50,000, dropping him from 11th to 34th in the standings. NASCAR stopped short of giving him a 1-race suspension, something it did previously for drivers who intentionally wrecked other vehicles, most recently with Bubba Wallace on Kyle Larson in 2022 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and with Chase Elliott on Denny Hamlin in 2023 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Mike Forde, NASCAR managing director of racing communications, said in today‘s episode of “Hauler Talk” the reasons Cindric wasn‘t suspended included the race being on a road course, with lower speeds and tighter confines already, and that the incident didn‘t lead to a caution flag. The previous two incidents that led to those suspensions occurred on 1.5-mile speedways.

In addition to the No. 2 team’s penalties, the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team will be without jackman Brandon Johnson and front tire changer Blaine Anderson after they were suspended for two races as part of the safety violation penalty noted in Sections 8.8.10.4.A&C: Tires and Wheels of the NASCAR Rule Book.

Toward the end of Stage 2, No. 5 driver Kyle Larson lost a right-front wheel on-track shortly after a pit stop.

Due to the incident, Larson was immediately penalized two laps, leading to a 32nd-place finish for the 2021 series titleholder.

Hendrick brings on jackman Eric Ludwig and front tire changer Jafar Hall to the No. 5 team for Sunday‘s Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). They are Hendrick crew members who were previously assigned to Spire Motorsports cars.