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Is Austin Cindric’s NASCAR career in danger? Penske fires father Tim Cindric, 2 others in wake of cheating scandal
Austin Cindric's father Tim Cindric and two other executives have been terminated by Penske after a cheating scandal at the Indianapolis 500.
Roger Penske on Wednesday terminated team president Tim Cindric, IndyCar general manager Kyle Moyer, and managing director Ron Ruzewski following an Indianapolis 500 cheating incident.
Tim Cindric, the father of NASCAR Cup Series driver Austin Cindric, has been a mainstay of the team for a long time.
In a statement, Penske stated, “Nothing is more important than the integrity of our sport and our race teams.”
Highlighting the “organizational failures” in the last two years, the Chairperson of the Penske Corporation said, “We had to make necessary changes. I apologize to our fans, our partners and our organization for letting them down.”
What we know about cheating scandal
Penske owns the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Indianapolis 500, the three-car team, and IndyCar. He holds the record of winning Indy 500 for 20 times.
Cindric's resignation comes after two of the three Penske entries were pushed to the back of the grid following a contentious Indianapolis 500 qualifying weekend.
Team Penske found itself at the heart of a significant INDYCAR row for the second consecutive year.
Prior to Sunday's final phase of qualifying for the 109th Indianapolis 500, Josef Newgarden, the two-time defending Indianapolis 500 winner, and his teammate Will Power were discovered to have an illegally modified part on their cars. Due to their inability to qualify, both were relegated to the back of the field on Monday.
Given that this is the second cheating controversy in two seasons, rival teams have stated that the action is not enough as illegal cars may have disqualified Jacob Abel of Dale Coyne Racing.
Will this move impact Austin Cindric?
Meanwhile, several fans conjectured that Cindric's departure from NASCAR in February may have an impact on his son Austin's racing endeavors for Penske in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Even after winning the Daytona 500 and dominating the Xfinity Series, Cindric has found it difficult to keep up with his Penske teammates.
Cindric, who has already won this season, is arguably NASCAR's best superspeedway driver.
The No. 2 team, meanwhile, is frequently seen by fans as Penske's weak point. With his father no longer working for Penske, the team may be asked when, not if, they can let go of Cindric.
Tim Cindric's exit from Penske probably won't have an immediate impact on Austin's career, but fans will be watching him closely now more than ever.
