NASCAR has opted to penalize Austin Cindric for his controversial move in Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas.
Cindric was docked 50 points and received a $50,000 fine for intentionally right-rear hooking Ty Dillon on the fourth lap of Sunday’s race. However, he was not issued a suspension for the move.
NASCAR rules Austin Cindric intentionally right-rear hooked Ty Dillon but does *NOT* issue a suspension. Instead, Cindric docked 50 points and fined $50k.
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) March 5, 2025
NASCAR felt the slower speed of a road course and the lack of a caution/severe damage made it not suspension-worthy.
NASCAR certainly could have suspended Cindric had it wanted to based on its findings. However, the incident took place on a road course, meaning the drivers were operating at a relatively low speed. There was also minimal damage from the incident, as the caution flag never even came out. That was enough to ward off a more severe penalty.
Cindric’s move infuriated Dillon, who immediately viewed it as retaliatory (video here). Dillon probably will not be happy at the lack of a suspension, but the move will still cost his rival points. Cindric would likely argue that he was the subject of an unfair move from Dillon, who had just pushed Cindric off the track to begin with.
Cindric wound up finishing 25th in Sunday’s field, while Dillon wound up 28th. The points penalty dropped Cindric from 11th to 34th in the points standings.
