NASCAR star Austin Cindric delivers Team Penske exit verdict

A generic image of NASCAR driver Austin Cindric — Photo: © IMAGO

NASCAR Cup Series

NASCAR star Austin Cindric delivers Team Penske exit verdict

Speculation over Cindric's future with the team has been rife this week

Simmey Hannifin Donaldson

Monday 26 May 2025 00:00 Updated: 05:30

NASCAR star Austin Cindric has claimed that it's business as usual for him at Team Penske despite huge speculation over his future with the team.

Interestingly, that speculation was sparked by an incident in IndyCar, when the cars of Josef Newgarden and Will Power failed technical inspection ahead of qualifying last weekend at the Indy 500.

The incident opened up an entire 'cheating' debate, and Roger Penske took swift action, firing three senior figures within Team Penske's IndyCar leadership, including Austin's father, Tim, who had been team president.

Tim's exit sparked huge speculation that Austin could soon follow him out of the door at Penske, but Cindric says that is not the case.

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“Professionally, I’m in no different place than I was a week ago,” Cindric explained to NASCAR media at Charlotte.

Will Austin Cindric leave Team Penske?

"I’ve never felt better. I’ve never had a better start to a season. So for me, I’m just more focused on execution, really. I feel like we’ve had some really fast race cars and some good opportunities.

“The interesting thing for me about my first three years in Cup was the first time I actually was in meetings with my dad.

"And that ended at the beginning of this year, so I feel like there really is only a personal connection to any of the news from this week.”

Cindric has had a mixed start to the 2025 season results-wise, but is locked into the playoffs following his win at Talladega Superspeedway last month.

Cindric has also registered two other top 10 finishes in the No. 2 Penske Ford in 2025, although he has only finished in the top 10 once in the last seven races.

IndyCar Team Penske Austin Cindric Will Power Josef Newgarden Roger Penske