Tim Cindric, the former Team President of Team Penske and father of Team Penske NASCAR Cup Series driver Austin Cindric, is back at the organization as an IndyCar strategist, following a dramatic and controversial exit from Penske last spring.
Tim Cindric was fired from his long-time home of Team Penske last May following a qualifying controversy in the lead-up to the 2025 Indianapolis 500. Now, he is back in IndyCar with Team Penske ahead of the new year.
Thursday, the team revealed that Cindric, the former President of Team Penske and father of Penske NASCAR Cup Series driver Austin Cindric, will serve as the strategist for Scott McLaughlin’s No. 3 entry during the 2026 season.
Though he left under controversial circumstances, in a post to X on Thursday afternoon, McLaughlin, a seven-time IndyCar winner, gave a vote of confidence to the once departed executive, saying that Cindric “is a huge part of why I was able to make the journey from Australia to the IndyCar Series.”
This move puts an end to a long saga that not only resulted in Cindric’s firing but also had NASCAR fans wondering about his son’s long-term future at Team Penske.
What’s Happening? On Wednesday Morning, Team Penske announced the “departure” of several executives, including Tim Cindric, a long-time staple of the…
Prior to his exit from Team Penske in May 2025, Tim Cindric had served as Team President since 2026, before stepping out of that role in January 2025 to become the President of the team’s IndyCar program.
At the time, Cindric cited his reasoning for this decision as providing him “with the flexibility I need at this stage of my career.” However, things would change again in May.
That month, during qualifying for the Indianapolis 500, two of the team’s three entries, the No. 2 of Josef Newgarden and the No. 12 of Will Power, were moved to the back of the field following inspection, which found illegal modifications to the rear attenuators of each car.
This marked the second time in as many years that a Team Penske car had found itself mired in controversy, following a scandal involving push-to-pass systems in early 2024.
A few days following this incident, and before the Indianapolis 500, Roger Penske, who owns the NTT IndyCar Series and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, cut ties with Cindric, the then IndyCar Team President, IndyCar Managing Director, Ron Ruzewski, and IndyCar General Manager Kyle Moyer.
Via a statement, Penske said in regard to this decision:
“Nothing is more important than the integrity of our sport and our race teams. We have had organizational failures during the last two years, and we had to make necessary changes. I apologize to our fans, our partners, and our organization for letting them down.”
In the aftermath of this move, fans wondered if it would affect the status of Tim’s son, Austin, who drives the No. 2 for Team Penske in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Though Cindric is a multi-time winner, his abilities behind the wheel pale in comparison to those of his teammates and other drivers in the series; nevertheless, Penske is committed to Cindric through this year. However, he is rumored to be a free agent at the end of the season.
The first race of the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season, the St. Petersburg Grand Prix, is scheduled for Sunday, March 1, at 12:00 PM ET and will air on FOX.
What’s Happening? NASCAR drivers, much like any athletes, have a period of free agency and multi-million dollar contracts. Based on information…
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