Sad News: NASCAR hits No. 2 team driver with big penalty for “not following NASCAR directives”

After a lengthy rain delay, Austin Cindric received a significant penalty before resuming racing. The Team Penske driver was punished by NASCAR and had to restart at the back of the pack.

Austin Cindric was having a good day. He qualified in the top ten and finished 17th at the end of the opening stage. Throughout the first half of the race, he remained in the top 15 and top 10.

The No. 2 team had a fan on their pit box to help dry it after the rain came through. NASCAR felt it was too close to the car and could have been used to help cool the car off. So, they issued a penalty.

Austin Cindric has one win this season. So, this suspension will not jeopardize his prospects of making the playoffs. That’s the good news. At least if you’re the number two team. It will be difficult and annoying to have to gallop through the field once more.

Team Penske has been experiencing some difficulties today. Joey Logano was running strong early on courtesy to some clever pit strategy. Ryan Blaney remained in the top ten throughout the afternoon. Without this punishment, Cindric’s situation would have been the same.

Austin Cindric's penalty was due to a fan blowing on his car during the red flag, @WendyVenturini reports.

That's the reason behind the "not following NASCAR directives" under red.

He'll drop to the rear for the restart.

— PRN (@PRNlive) June 30, 2024

If NASCAR felt the fan was close enough to the car to cool it down, then that is their ruling. It seems a bit silly, but you have to be careful about that kind of thing if you’re a race team.

Austin Cindric waited around to get a penalty

Austin Cindric sat for the entire weather delay simply to be fined. Such a shame. It’s like waiting in line for something only to discover it’s sold out when you get to the counter.

The rain delay was lifted, and vehicles resumed racing on the course around 6:45 PM EST. NASCAR moved rapidly to dry the track, and it worked in their favor. The recent heat and concrete on the track aided this development.

As far as weather delays go, this one was relatively painless. Here at the track, the rain came down hard and fast. It was a wild half hour or so. However, the bad weather was through with soon and we knew racing wouldn’t be too far away.

Bad news for Austin Cindric. But the race isn’t over until it’s over. Let’s see if this one gets interesting in the end and if we see some caution flags fly.