After NASCAR suspended Chase Elliott for right-hooking Denny Hamlin at Charlotte Motor Speedway two years ago and encumbered Austin Dillon's Richmond Raceway victory last year for doing the same, there was speculation that they would be dropping the hammer on Austin Cindric after he retaliated against Ty Dillon in the same manner at Circuit of the Americas.
Cindric was not suspended for the front straightaway incident, as road course speeds are slower and thus less dangerous than oval speeds, and Dillon was able to continue racing. Additionally, there was no caution.
However, NASCAR's stance on the action itself has been made clear in recent times, and for that reason, Cindric was still issued a hefty penalty, one that has totally changed the early-season playoff picture.
The driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford was docked 50 points and fined $50,000.
It's a major setback for Cindric, who had been sitting in a 10th place tie in the point standings through the season's first three races, including two at superspeedways where he was one of the primary contenders to win.
Cindric was 13 points above the cut line with 80 points. But with 30 points, now sits in 35th place in the point standings and is 41 points below the cut line.
Hendrick Motorsports' Kyle Larson is still the driver on the bubble in 16th place with 71 points, since Joe Gibbs Racing's Chase Briscoe had his 100-point penalty overturned on the same day and now sits in a 14th place tie. As a result, Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin remains one spot below the cut line with 67 points, four points behind Larson.
Though 41 points is hardly a huge gap with 23 regular season races remaining on the calendar, Cindric's history suggests that he is now in a must-win situation.
Even when he clinched playoff spots with victories in 2022 and 2024, he would not have made it into the postseason on points, so he likely needs to find victory lane to have a shot at his third playoff berth in four years.
The season's fourth race is the Shriners Children's 500, which is set to be shown live on Fox Sports 1 from Phoenix Raceway starting at 3:30 p.m. ET this Sunday, March 9. Start a free trial of FuboTV and don't miss it!