Whenever a driver is taken out by their rival in a NASCAR race, the victim sometimes waits for an opportunity for revenge. Remember the instant karma moment at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2022, where Bubba Wallace retaliated against Kyle Larson? “Karmas quick in this sport,” he said after the fight. But, justice is not always swift. Back in 2015, Joey Logano had won at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in the round of 12. Matt Kenseth was in a must-win situation and was leading in the Kansas Speedway with Logano running 2nd. Out of the blue, Logano nudged and spun Kenseth, erasing his chances in the championship run completely. Two races later, an eliminated Kenseth intentionally wrecked him at the Martinsville Speedway, ending the Penske driver’s own hopes of winning. Looks like such a situation unfolded in the 2025 championship as well!
Fast forward to a decade later, a Kaulig Racing driver fell victim to the intentions of an irritated Richard Childress Racing star. The Ambetter 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway saw a dreadful crash, one that killed the podium chances of most drivers, including the former Daytona 500 winner, Austin Cindric. The hook he received from Hendrick Motorsports driver, Kyle Larson, was still fresh on his mind. Taking the most professional way out, Cindric offered an olive branch through HMS officials. But, he was not letting it happen to him any time sooner.
The wreck at COTA and its after-effect
At the Circuit of the Americas, there were plenty of talking points in the NASCAR Cup race. From Christopher Bell taking a second consecutive win to Kyle Busch missing out on yet another win, there was a lot to unpack. Among the many incidents and moments, was an early crash involving Ty Dillon and Austin Cindric. And, the youngest grandson of Richard Childress was obviously not too pleased. But, why did this happen?
Well, Ty Dillon and Austin Cindric were side-by-side in the final corner. Of course, the two of them collided and traded paint, but Cindric did something that had Ty Dillon raging. The #2 driver right-hooked the #10 driver into the wall, on the front straight. Such a stunt could only have been done deliberately, and NASCAR usually frowns on that sort of thing. On the brighter side, the Kaulig Racing driver was able to continue the race without too much damage. In the end, he could only muster 28th fastest on the day. Meanwhile, Cindric finished a couple of places ahead in 25th place, with Josh Berry and Erik Jones between them.
After getting punted out into a spin, Ty Dillon was fuming. He angrily yelled on the radio, “I’m not going to say anything, but you know what I’m thinking. That was some absolute bullsh–.” Not that anybody could really blame him, because the move was so blatant, and such purposeful moves were always punished. Though that didn’t stop him from entertaining the idea of retaliation.
As per the latest reports, the sanctions have officially come in, with Cindric copping a $50,000 fine. In addition to that, NASCAR also docked him 50 points, which dropped him all the way down to 35th in the standings. Interestingly, he avoided a one-race suspension, owing to the tighter nature of the Circuit of the Americas.
Acknowledging NASCAR’s punishment for his reckless act, Austin Cindric apologized saying, “Look it’s not up to me to decide, you know, what penalties are or aren’t. That’s up to NASCAR so… You definitely have to accept and work hard to make it up from. I got forced into the runoff, forced off the track and, yeah I just handled myself poorly in the face of adversity, and obviously penalized for it. I mean, I think at the end of the day, the data points that NASCAR has, and the experience they have in making those calls…. That’s not really up for me to decide. I think as competitors, you absorb each case and learn from it or in my case, learn from my own personal experience.”
Already, this has been a miserable season starter for the 26-year-old. A week prior to this incident, he was taken out of the podium finish in a massive wreck. The event unfolded when Kyle Larson spun him, and triggered the Big One. But, not letting his rage consume him, Austin Cindric handed a card over to Hendrick Motorsports officials to schedule a connect with the culprit, and clear the air. Walking out of the incident, Cindric had a clear mind.
After the connection with Larson, he said, “I thought we had a good talk. Kyle took responsibility on the end of the race (contact off of turn 2) at Atlanta Motor Speedway, which obviously ended our race. Talking about it doesn’t really un-wreck my race car, but I think we’re on the same page as to what the expectations are moving forward racing together.” Maybe, like attracts like. What he and Larson experienced together was given back to Ty Dillon when it was his time: Compassion and understanding. Anyways, this season has not been too kind to the Richard Childress camp.
A mixed day in the office for Richard Childress
First and foremost, it was Ty Dillon’s incident that saw him end up in 28th. Meanwhile, his own driver and Ty’s older brother Austin Dillon, got taken out of the race by Denny Hamlin, late on. The latter lost control of his car, sliding, then crashing into the #3 driver. This caused the elder Dillon to get stuck in the gravel. He tried to help himself out of it, but got beached. As a consequence, he had to wait for NASCAR officials to intervene. At that time, the other Richard Childress racer, Kyle Busch was leading the race. However, that did not bring him a fateful result.
Turns out, the caution for the Dillon-Hamlin incident created more problems for #8 driver. Post caution, the field had bunched up again. Unfortunately, Kyle Busch was the first of the leaders to pit, and William Byron and Christopher Bell were on fresher tires. Still, the veteran driver gave it a good go, and defended like a demon from Bell, sometimes going on the border of what’s legal.
Unfortunately, Bell finally got the move done, and from that point onwards Kyle Busch was helpless. William Byron and Tyler Reddick soon made short work of the struggling #8 Chevy driver. At that point, the key was to survive the onslaught and how far Busch would plummet down the order. Fortunately, the only other driver who overtook him, was Chase Elliott, and Busch ended the race in 5th place.
Let’s hope to see changed fortunes at the Phoenix Raceway for the racers.
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