Austin Cindric is riding a wave of momentum—and controversy—into Texas Motor Speedway. Fresh off a dramatic and long-awaited win at Talladega Superspeedway, the Team Penske driver will roll off from the second row for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race, looking to capitalize on his recent surge in performance. But while the win marked Penske’s first of the season and a career highlight for Cindric, the fallout from what happened on the team radios may have made even more noise.
During the closing laps at Talladega, Penske’s teamwork unraveled in real time over the airwaves. Cindric’s teammate Ryan Blaney—who was also vying for the win—unleashed a profane, frustration-filled rant directed at Cindric after feeling blocked and boxed out in the final push to the finish. It was raw, it was emotional, and it was caught live for all to hear.
The moment underscored the high-stakes tension brewing within Penske’s stable this season. With all three of its drivers searching for a spark, the Talladega finish was a pivotal one. Cindric’s victory snapped a 85-race winless streak and came at a time when the team needed a jolt. But the victory came at the apparent cost of internal harmony—at least temporarily.
Asked about the radio comments in the days since, Cindric played it cool, downplaying the drama while acknowledging the intensity that comes with racing teammates for a win. “We all want the same thing,” he said. “We want to win, and sometimes things get heated. That’s part of the job.”
Team Penske, for its part, hasn’t issued public reprimands or called team meetings—at least not that have been disclosed. Internally, there’s likely been some smoothing over behind the scenes, but Sunday’s race at Texas could put that dynamic back under the microscope.
The mile-and-a-half oval in Fort Worth has historically rewarded teamwork, especially on restarts and long green-flag runs. If Penske wants to reassert its dominance—and show that Talladega wasn’t a one-off—it will require its drivers to find the right balance between cooperation and competition.
For Cindric, starting in the front two rows offers a prime opportunity to prove that his Talladega win wasn’t just a fluke, and that he’s ready to be a consistent contender. For fans and media, the bigger story might be how—or if—the Penske trio can work together without more fireworks.
Because in NASCAR, winning cures a lot of problems—but not all of them.
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