Ahead of the Shriners Children’s 500 in Phoenix, Denny Hamlin has become the latest driver to speak out against NASCAR’s penalty on Austin Cindric. While he acknowledges that the outcome of each incident can vary, Hamlin believes the result shouldn’t matter — that a foul is a foul.
Last week at Circuit of the Americas (COTA), Austin Dillon pushed Cindric wide in the opening laps, triggering a retaliation from the Team Penske driver. On Lap 4, Cindric hooked Dillon’s car from the right, sending the Kaulig Racing driver into the wall and causing significant damage.
Many expected Cindric to receive a one-race suspension, but instead, he walked away with a $50,000 fine and a 50-point deduction.
Denny Hamlin Believes Austin Cindric Deserved Harsher Penalty for COTA Incident
Speaking to the media, Hamlin revealed he had expected Cindric to be suspended for one race. The 23XI Racing co-owner was glad NASCAR took action and hopes Cindric will think twice before retaliating in the future, but nonetheless, Hamlin still believes a suspension was warranted.
Discussing the rules, Hamlin noted that their enforcement often comes down to “cause and effect.” Sometimes, the effect is worse than others, but he believes the cause should be the deciding factor.
“It doesn’t matter what the result is. A foul is a foul, a flagrant one is a flagrant one,” Hamlin said via Bob Pockrass on X. This stemmed shortly after Kyle Busch expressed his feelings on the matter.
And add Denny Hamlin to this list. He said he didn't research the Cindric move to see intent but if it's a flagrant foul, it's a flagrant foul. https://t.co/TdYIUIP1RY pic.twitter.com/5r0TKXEum2
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) March 8, 2025
Regarding Cindric’s intent, Hamlin admitted he hadn’t reviewed the data.
“I haven’t had time to look into it. I’d have to investigate to determine intent, but that’s not my job.”
Meanwhile, Busch doubled down on his criticism, again claiming Cindric’s penalty was too lenient. Like Hamlin, Busch believes Cindric should have been suspended for one race, pointing to his own past experiences.
He and Bubba Wallace have both been suspended for similar actions, but Busch feels Cindric got off easy because of his last name and his father’s role at Team Penske.
