As Austin Cindric lined up Ty Dillon’s rear bumper on the straightaway at Circuit of The Americas, he became the unwitting protagonist in NASCAR’s latest controversy. This is not just about a right-rear hook that sent a competitor spinning but about the very soul of racing justice. The thunderous impact that followed would echo far beyond the fourth lap of last Sunday’s race, setting off a chain reaction that would test the foundation of NASCAR’s disciplinary system.
The fallout from the incident has rippled through the NASCAR community, leaving fans, analysts, and even fellow drivers questioning the sanctioning body’s commitment to fairness and safety. As social media erupted with comparisons to previous penalties, NASCAR officials found themselves in the unfamiliar position of defending not just what they did, but why they did it.
The controversy centers on NASCAR’s apparent shift in policy. Both Bubba Wallace in 2022 and Chase Elliott in 2023 received one-race suspensions for nearly identical right-rear hook maneuvers that sent competitors Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin, respectively, into the wall. Yet, Cindric’s similar action at COTA would receive a markedly different response, prompting industry insiders to question whether NASCAR’s rulebook had suddenly been rewritten or simply reinterpreted to fit the moment. The answer would come with a candor few expected.
NASCAR stands its ground
“The reason we landed on the points and fine is we take every situation and every violation as its own unique incident,” explained Mike Forde, NASCAR’s managing director of racing communications on the Hauler Talk podcast. “And I know probably fans don’t love hearing that… but it’s said because it’s true.” Then came the admission that perfectly captured NASCAR’s stance: “Each incident is very different… When we look at penalties, we do not really care how popular we are. We try to do the right thing here… If we suspended him, the punishment wouldn’t fit the crime.” It’s worth noting here that the ‘punishment’ Forde is referencing isn’t just a one-race suspension; it is something much larger than that.
In 2025, NASCAR tweaked its rulebook regarding playoff waivers. The rule now states that if any driver is suspended for a race, they will forfeit all their regular-season playoff points until the start of the playoffs. Forde feels that considering the circumstances of the incident, penalizing Cindric to the point where he has virtually no shot at the championship would be too harsh.
That “right thing” resulted in Cindric receiving a $50,000 fine and losing 50 championship points—a significant penalty that dropped him from 11th to 35th in the standings—but notably allowed him to compete in this weekend’s race at Phoenix. The justification? According to Forde, “It is at a road course with lower speeds and tight confines to begin with, and the results didn’t even draw a caution flag.”
The contrast with similar incidents couldn’t be starker. In October 2022, Bubba Wallace was suspended for one race after intentionally wrecking Kyle Larson at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. NASCAR COO Steve O’Donnell called it “a dangerous act that we thought was intentional and put other competitors at risk.” Similarly, Chase Elliott sat out a race in 2023 after his right-rear hook on Denny Hamlin during the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The troubling history of selective enforcement
This isn’t the first time NASCAR’s penalty system has raised eyebrows for perceived inconsistency. In 2015, Matt Kenseth received a two-race suspension for intentionally wrecking Joey Logano at Martinsville while several laps down, effectively ending Logano’s championship hopes. Yet, earlier that same season, Kevin Harvick escaped suspension despite triggering a multi-car crash at Talladega that many believed was intentional to preserve his playoff position.
The 2012 Phoenix incident where Jeff Gordon deliberately wrecked championship contender Clint Bowyer resulted only in a $100,000 fine and 25-point penalty, despite sparking a pit road brawl and significantly impacting the title fight. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch was parked for both the Xfinity and Cup races at Texas in 2011 after turning Ron Hornaday Jr. under caution in a Truck Series event.
“His frustration was at a boiling point,” Forde acknowledged regarding Cindric, who had been wrecked after leading late in both the Daytona 500 and at Atlanta. “Why he did it doesn’t make it right and didn’t come into our thought process of where we should land here. It was strictly because of the speeds and the venue.”
What makes this explanation particularly troubling is that it potentially creates a roadmap for retaliation. If drivers now understand that certain tracks offer lighter consequences for the same actions, the integrity of competition across all venues comes into question. After all, an intentional wreck causes the same damage to a driver’s championship hopes regardless of where it happens.
As Phoenix approaches with Cindric behind the wheel rather than watching from home, the message sent by NASCAR’s decision reverberates through the garage. In a sport where drivers constantly test boundaries, knowing exactly where the line is drawn isn’t just about fairness—it’s about safety. And that’s something everyone in NASCAR should really care about. What do you think? Should Cindric have been suspended, or did NASCAR make the right call? Let us know in the comments!
The post “We Do Not Really Care” – Insider Publicly Defends NASCAR’s Questionable Intent Amid Mounting Backlash Against Austin Cindric appeared first on EssentiallySports.
