UPDATE: Roger Penske says Austin Cindric has a contract through 2026
Let me say, as far as Austin Cindric is concerned, I had a good talk with him. He’s been a great young guy. I’ve known him as he’d grown up. And I said, “Austin, you’ve got a job to do here, you’ve got a contract with us, and you’ve got a contract for next year.” So as far as I’m concerned, we don’t need to be talking about Austin Cindric. We need to be talking about Austin Cindric in the winner’s circle.
Caught up with Roger Penske for a few minutes today. Will post more comments over next couple days but with all the chatter about Austin Cindric after his dad was dismissed, here is what Roger Penske said in giving Austin a vote of confidence (he’s good at least through 2026) pic.twitter.com/gkHBnT3jSY
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) May 31, 2025
ORIGINAL POST 5-25-2025: Austin Cindric stood tall Saturday in the Charlotte Motor Speedway media center and addressed every question about his father and what it means for his ride with Team Penske.
“Professionally, I’m in no different place than I was a week ago,” Cindric said about his job. “I feel like we have a lot of momentum on our team right now, on the [No.] 2 car. I’ve never felt better. I’ve never had a better start to a season, so for me, I’m more focused on execution. I feel like we’ve had some really fast race cars and some good opportunities.
“The interesting thing for me about my first three years in Cup is … I was actually in meetings with my dad. And that ended at the beginning of this year (when Tim Cindric stepped back as team president), so I feel like there really is only a personal connection to any of the news from this week.”
Tim Cindric was among three individuals who departed the organization earlier this week after violations were found with Josef Newgarden’s and Will Power’s cars at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Cindric had been a Penske employee since 1999.
…
Cindric answered with a succinct “correct” when asked about having a contract in place and continuing to drive for Penske. When later asked if he was given any reassurance from Penske about his status, Cindric said it was never a question.
— Racer —