Austin Cindric, by any objective measure, is enjoying a solid season for Team Penske in the NASCAR Cup Series.
But Cindric’s situation with the organization turned a bit uncomfortable earlier this week when its owner and founder, Roger Penske, unexpectedly fired three executives with the INDYCAR arm of the company.
Among them: Tim Cindric, who is Austin Cindric’s father. The elder Cindric worked in a senior leadership role with Team Penske for well over a decade — serving as team president before his dismissal a few days ago.
The trio of ousted executives recently found themselves at the center of a cheating scandal at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where Team Penske is fielding multiple cars that INDYCAR officials found illegal ahead of Sunday’s Indianapolis 500.
Team Penske statement and Roger Penske quote on Team Penske INDYCAR personnel changes: pic.twitter.com/EmzWY7YUnX
— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) May 21, 2025
His Father Out At Team Penske, Is Austin Cindric Now On The Hot Seat?
Although never stated openly, Tim Cindric’s job as president of Team Penske almost certainly played a role in the organization naming Austin Cindric the driver of its iconic No. 2 NASCAR Cup Series car in 2022.
Roger Penske tabbed Austin, who had won an Xfinity Series championship for the organization in 2020, to take over the seat after Brad Keselowski announced he was vacating the ride to become a driver and co-owner for the outfit now known as RFK Racing.
Austin Cindric made quite the first impression in the car by immediately going out and winning NASCAR’s biggest race, the Daytona 500, while locking up a NASCAR Cup Series playoff berth in the process.
Although 2023 was a bit of a downer for Cindric, who failed to win a race and missed the playoffs, he returned to Victory Lane in 2024 with a playoff-clinching triumph at World Wide Technology Raceway outside of St. Louis.
This year, Cindric has been sporadically fast in his No. 2 Ford, nearly collecting his second Daytona 500 trophy back in February and picking up a playoff-clinching win at Talladega Superspeedway in April.
But his contract status with Team Penske is not publicly known. With his father no longer a part of the company, does that mean Cindric could be in jeopardy of losing his ride at season’s end?
AUSTIN CINDRIC WINS AT TALLADEGA! pic.twitter.com/Nm31AEiifa
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 27, 2025
Austin Cindric Projects Confidence About His Standing At Team Penske
When addressing reporters on Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway ahead of Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600, Austin Cindric didn’t seem too worried about his future with Team Penske in light of recent events. He had little to say about his dad’s departure.
“Professionally, I’m in no different place than I was a week ago,” Cindric said. “I feel like we have a lot of momentum on our team right now, on the (No.) 2 car. I’ve never felt better.”
Cindric has recorded three top-10 finishes, including his victory at Talladega, in 12 starts this season. He led coming to the white flag at the Daytona 500 before being shuffled back due to a last-lap multi-car crash. He also contended for the win the next weekend at Atlanta — again, before a late-race accident ruined his chances.
“I’ve never had a better start to a season, so for me, I’m more focused on execution,” Cindric said. “I feel like we’ve had some really fast race cars and some good opportunities.”
Here’s the rest of Cindric’s comments at Charlotte Motor Speedway, as shared on social media platform X by WXLV ABC45’s Peter Stratta.
.@AustinCindric speaks after his father Tim’s departure from @Team_Penske:
“I love my dad…Roger’s a class guy…I’m in no different place professionally than I was a week ago”#CocaCola600 #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/OsxxxCxw4Y
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) May 24, 2025
