NASCAR Fines Austin Cindric $50,000, Deducts 50 Points for COTA Incident with Dillon
Austin Cindric received a $50,000 fine and 50-point penalty from NASCAR following an incident with Ty Dillon during Sunday's race at Circuit of the Americas.
NASCAR race car on track
The incident occurred on lap four when Cindric, after being forced off the track by Dillon in the final corner, returned to the racing surface and deliberately hooked Dillon's Kaulig Racing Chevrolet in the right rear. The contact caused Dillon to spin twice on the frontstretch, nearly colliding with Zane Smith.
NASCAR's decision not to suspend Cindric took into account the lower speeds typical of road course racing. This differs from recent similar incidents that resulted in suspensions, such as Chase Elliott's hooking of Denny Hamlin at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May 2023 and Bubba Wallace's incident with Kyle Larson at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2022.
Mike Forde from NASCAR Communications explained on the 'Hauler Talk' podcast that each situation is evaluated independently. The factors considered in Cindric's case included the road course setting, lower speeds, tight racing conditions, and the fact that the incident didn't require a caution flag.
This penalty aligns with previous road course incidents, similar to Noah Gragson's penalty at Road America in 2022, where he was fined $35,000 and lost 30 points for intentionally hooking Sage Karam.
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