“NASCAR has done it for me”: Dale Earnhardt Jr. weighs in on Austin Cindric’s right-hook incident

Dale Earnhardt Jr. shared his thoughts on NASCAR potentially penalizing Austin Cindric for the lap four incident at Circuit of the Americas. Recalling how he got penalized during his racing days, Dale Jr. hopes NASCAR doesn't come "too hard" on Cindric.

For the uninitiated, Austin Cindric appeared to right-hook Ty Dillon on the frontstretch on lap four at COTA. The incident seemed to be a retaliation after the Team Penske driver was pushed wide by Dillon on the final corner.

In the latest episode of the Dale Jr. Download, Dale Earnhardt Jr. opened up about the potential penalty on the No. 2 driver and said:

"I hope NASCAR doesn't come down too hard on him."

The 26-time Cup race winner felt for Austin Cindric considering he was once in the same position.

"NASCAR has done this to me. They'll sit you down and they'll go, 'We like you. We don't want to do this. But we have to,'" Earnhardt Jr. shared.

Speaking about the updated playoff waiver policy that would affect Cindric's playoff run, given he gets a suspension and makes the postseason, Dale Jr said:

"The waiver and all that nonsense. And here we are in a moment where we could learn how this all works out."

According to NASCAR, any driver who misses a race due to suspension will forfeit all playoff points. If Austin Cindric gets suspended for the upcoming race at Phoenix Raceway and later secures one of the 16 playoff spots, he would start the postseason with a baseline maximum of 2,000 points in the reset standings.

Cindric finished 25th in the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at COTA.

For now, NASCAR, led by Managing Director of Competition Brad Moran, is reviewing the incident to decide whether or not to penalize the 26-year-old driver.

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"Very proud": Dale Earnhardt Jr. on JR Motorsports rookie driver winning at COTA

While Dale Earnhardt Jr. empathized with Austin Cindric on the COTA incident, the NASCAR legend had something to celebrate from the race weekend. His rookie Xfinity Series driver, 18-year-old Connor Zilisch, won the Focused Health 250 at the 2.3-mile Texas-based road course.

The JR Motorsports owner took to X (formerly Twitter) and wrote:

"Very proud of @ConnorZilisch [Connor Zilisch] and @Mardylindley [No. 88 crew chief] and the @JRMotorsports team. That battle with Carson made me nauseous. Gonna be a fun but very stressful year! 😀😀😀💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼."

Connor Zilisch's victory wasn't without any troubles. The No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro driver received an early penalty for pitting while the pit road was closed. He battled his way to the front until he took the lead from teammate Carson Kvapil with 10 laps remaining.

Zilisch kept the lead all the way to the checkered flag for his first win of the 2025 season.

Connor Zilisch won the 2025 Focused Health 250 at COTA - Source: Imagn

The young driver runs a full-time schedule for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Xfinity Series team. He races under the JR Motorsports banner alongside Carson Kvapil, Sammy Smith, and defending series champion Justin Allgaier.