Dale Earnhardt Jr. Analyzes NASCAR’s Bold Move: What the Austin Cindric Penalty Means for the Future

After NASCAR’s decision on the incident between Austin Cindric and Ty Dillon, opinions are divided. Did NASCAR make the right call?

To find out, we need to ask some important questions. Do drivers understand the rules regarding such incidents now?

“I think so, yeah. I think so,” said Dale Earnhardt Jr. on his show, the Dale Jr. Download. “Drivers usually complain, but they know that turning a driver at high speed is dangerous. They want NASCAR to simply ban those moves, but that’s not happening.”

The crash happened just four laps into the race. Dillon pushed Cindric off the track after they took a corner together. Cindric then waited for a straightaway, lined up behind Dillon, and turned left into his back bumper, causing Dillon to spin into the wall.

Immediately, fans began to wonder if Cindric would face serious penalties. NASCAR had the option to suspend him, which would also have taken away any playoff points he earned during the season.

Instead, NASCAR chose to fine Cindric $50,000 and took away 50 points from his driver total.

“NASCAR is saying, ‘We’re going to allow racing and mistakes. Cindric made a bad choice and lost the points,” Earnhardt commented.

Will this penalty be enough to discourage similar behavior from Cindric in the future? That remains uncertain.

“He lost 50 points, which is a significant loss,” Earnhardt noted. “That’s roughly equivalent to winning a race.”

Only time will tell if this ruling has an impact. We can expect other drivers to continue testing the boundaries in upcoming races.