CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Austin Cindric is not worried about his future with Team Penske after his father Tim Cindric was fired by team owner Roger Penske as the team's IndyCar president earlier this week following a cheating scandal at the Indianapolis 500.
Cindric drives the No. 2 Ford Mustang for Penske in the NASCAR Cup Series, and is currently 12th in the points standings with three top-10 finishes in 12 races, including a win at Talladega. That victory was Team Penske's first of the 2025 NASCAR season.
Still, given the family ties with Team Penske it raised some speculation about how his father's departure might impact the younger Cindric.
Penske met with all of his NASCAR drivers in person in Charlotte following the moves, including Austin Cindric.
When asked if he was given any assurances from Penske that it will not impact his future with Penske's NASCAR team, Cindric shook his head and said “I don't think it was even in question.”
“Their support has always been very strong and also very transparent,” Cindric said following qualifying Saturday for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. “When I have not performed to my best we have had those conversations. But past that it's business as usual for me.”
Tim Cindric was one of three executives fired by Penske after two Penske cars were found to be illegal following qualifying runs at the Indianapolis 500. Along with Cindric, IndyCar managing director Ron Ruzewski and IndyCar general manager Kyle Moyer were also terminated.
“Nothing is more important than the integrity of our sport and our race teams,” Penske said in a statement. “We have had organizational failures during the last two years, and we had to make necessary changes. I apologize to our fans, our partners and our organization for letting them down.”
Penske owns three IndyCars, IndyCar, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy 500. He has won the Indy 500 a record 20 times.
Cindric called this the best start to his career and believes his team has plenty of momentum following the win at Talladega.
Cindric said his father's firing won't impact how he approaches the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday.
“Professionally, I'm in no different of a place than I was a week ago,” Cindric said. "I feel like we have a lot of momentum on our team right now in the the No. 2 car. I've never felt better and had a better start to the season. So for me I'm just focused on execution. I feel like we have had some really fast cars."
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Steve Reed, The Associated Press
