After Kyle Busch’s ‘last name’ dig, NASCAR team owner ‘guarantees’ a hidden factor prevented Austin Cindric's suspension

NASCAR’s decision to penalize Team Penske’s Austin Cindric for his early-race incident with Ty Dillon has been under scrutiny since the sanctioning body made the call. Recently, Tommy Baldwin Racing owner Tommy Baldwin shared his perspective, suggesting that the penalty against Cindric runs deeper than just the on-track clash with Kaulig Racing’s Dillon.

Cindric and Dillon were battling hard early in the race when a defensive move by the latter forced the Team Penske driver off the track. In response, Cindric nudged Dillon’s #10 Chevrolet in the right rear, triggering the incident that led to NASCAR penalizing him with a $50K fine and a 50-point deduction in the standings.

However, Tommy Baldwin, appearing on the Door Bumper Clear podcast, suggested that NASCAR’s decision may have been influenced by off-track factors rather than just the on-track altercation. This came shortly after two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch expressed how the decision was motivated by the Penske driver's 'last name.'

"Some guys get off based off of who I think their last name is," Busch said.

Extending on Busch's reviews, Baldwin shared that he is certain about the decision being motivated by 'something' that 'changed.'

"I can guarantee you something changed from 9 O'clock on Wednesday. I don't know who made a call, I don't know who made a final decision but something changed," said Baldwin

NASCAR’s penalty on Austin Cindric has remained a hot topic, with opinions divided on whether the punishment was justified. Some argue that Cindric got off easy, as no owner points were deducted, and he avoided suspension - an outcome that, under new rules, would have stripped him of all playoff points until the postseason. Others, however, are outraged, and drew comparisons to similar incidents involving Bubba Wallace in 2022 and Chase Elliott in 2023, both of whom faced harsher consequences for their actions on track.

After Baldwin's comment, veteran spotter Freddie Kraft expressed that Wallace and Elliott's penalties were justified as their incidents were more severe than Cindric and Dillon's clash at COTA. However, co-host Karsyn Elledge shared that a right hook is a right hook, 'no matter what.'

In other news from COTA, Christopher Bell secured his second consecutive victory in this year's Cup Series campaign before driving down victory lane again last weekend, securing three back-to-back wins in the Cup Series.

Team Penske’s three-time champion weighs in on NASCAR’s penalty against his teammate

Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano recently shared his thoughts on NASCAR sanctioning a penalty on his Team Penske teammate Austin Cindric following the incident at COTA. Reports suggest that NASCAR believes Cindric wasn't suspended for his retaliation as the incident happened on a road course, where intent is difficult to determine.

However, Team Penske's ace driver, Joey Logano, shared his thoughts on the decision, saying it's hard to understand all the legalities in NASCAR's rule book.

“That's how everyone interprets the rules is, you know, it's one thing to be written in the rule book and sometimes it's really hard to understand because it's a lot of legal mumbo-jumbo,” he said.

Meanwhile, the next Cup Series fixture is the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at LAs Vegas Motor Speedway. Catch the race live at 3:30 PM on Sunday, March 16.