NASCAR

NASCAR Issues Relatively Mild Penalty To Austin Cindric; Chase Briscoe Penalty Rescinded

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By
Jared Turner
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Jared Turner Sports Editor

Jared Turner is a motorsports writer who has covered NASCAR for 20 years. He has interviewed over 20 NASCAR Hall of Famers and around 100 drivers, crew chiefs, and team owners, both past and present. He has also covered the sport for FOX Sports (where he was a two-time recipient of the FOX “X” Award for “Xtraordinary” job performance), NASCAR.com, Sporting News, NASCAR Pole Position Magazine, the SPEED network, and plenty of other online and print-only publications throughout his career. Notably, Jared has penned dozens of articles for NASCAR souvenir programs, including several featured prominently in Daytona 500 keepsakes. A Virginia Press Association award winner and former member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA), Jared has racked up accolades both for his writing and his academic work. He studied both Communication and Psychology at Virginia Tech, where he was permanently enshrined in Phi Beta Kappa — the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. Jared excels at feature writing and opinion writing, much of which stems from his dedication to all levels of racing.

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Sports Editor

Published06 Mar 2025

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Austin Cindric Chase Briscoe

Wednesday was a busy news day around the NASCAR industry.

First, the sanctioning body handed down a major but relatively mild penalty to Team Penske driver Austin Cindric. Later, Chase Briscoe and Joe Gibbs Racing saw their penalty from Daytona taken back.

Coincidentally, as seen in the photo above, Briscoe and Cindric shared the front row after qualifying 1-2 for February’s Daytona 500.

Given the totality of Wednesday’s rulings, both drivers actually fared pretty well. For both Briscoe and Cindric, the outcomes certainly could have been a lot worse.

Let’s delve a bit deeper into what happened.

Did Austin Cindric Get Off Easy After Wrecking Ty Dillon At COTA?

Obviously, no one ever wants to be penalized. All factors considered, though, Cindric got a slap on the wrist from NASCAR.

Breaking from recent precedent, NASCAR announced it wasn’t suspending Cindric for hooking Dillon in the right rear quarter panel in Sunday’s Cup Series race at the Circuit of The Americas road course in Austin, Texas.

Instead, the sanctioning body issued the 2022 Daytona 500 winner a 50-point penalty and $50,000 fine. While that might seem like a harsh reaction, it’s pretty forgiving in the greater context.

Causing a driver to wreck by deliberately hitting them in the right rear is always frowned upon by series officials, and it typically results in a one-race suspension.

NASCAR took this approach with Bubba Wallace for right-hooking Kyle Larson at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2022. The sanctioning body likewise made Chase Elliott sit for a race after making a similar maneuver on Denny Hamlin at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2023.

But NASCAR saw Cindric’s move on Dillon a bit differently for multiple reasons, per FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass.

While Cindric came out pretty good in the grand scheme of things, a loss of 50 driver points is significant. As a result, it will be harder for Cindric to qualify for the playoffs based on points. That means he’ll probably need to win a race in the regular season to make the 16-driver playoff field.

Being that Cindric has triumphed just twice in 118 NASCAR Cup Series starts, getting to Victory Lane in the next 23 races could be a tall order. Cindric won’t appeal the penalty, which dropped him to 35th in the standings.

Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Team Make Major Leap With Points Restoration

Buried deep in the standings after being penalized for a spoiler infraction on his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing car at Daytona International Speedway last month, Briscoe can see the light of day once again.

For that, the first-year JGR driver can thank the National Motorsports Appeals Panel, which overturned NASCAR’s decision.

With Wednesday’s ruling, Briscoe and his team gained back the 100 championship points and 10 playoff points they both lost when NASCAR said the team altered holes at the base of the spoiler on Briscoe’s Toyota. Meanwhile, crew chief James Small’s four-race suspension has been lifted, and team owner Joe Gibbs won’t have to pay a $100,000 fine.

Heading to Phoenix, Briscoe has suddenly climbed his way into a tie for 14th in the NASCAR Cup Series standings. He would be in the playoffs if the 16-driver playoff field was locked in today.

“The panel believes that the elongation of some of the holes on the number 19 Cup car spoiler base is caused by the process of attaching that specific spoiler base to the rear deck and not modification of the single source part,” the National Motorsports Appeals Panel’s official explanation read.

Understandably, the verdict thrilled Briscoe. He quickly made his sentiments known on X after learning of the panel’s decision.