NASCAR Fines Austin Cindric $50,000, Deducts 50 Points for COTA Incident with Dillon
Austin Cindric has received a $50,000 fine and 50-point penalty for intentionally hooking Ty Dillon during Sunday's NASCAR race at Circuit of the Americas.
NASCAR race car on track
The incident occurred on lap four when Cindric, after being forced off track by Dillon in the final corner, returned to the racing surface and deliberately hit 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 opted against suspension due to 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 violation is treated as a unique incident. The decision considered several factors, including:
- Lower speeds at the road course
- Tight racing conditions
- The incident didn't require a caution flag
- Overall impact of the incident
This penalty is similar to Noah Gragson's 2022 Road America incident, where he received a $35,000 fine and 30-point penalty for intentionally hooking Sage Karam in an Xfinity Series race.
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