Austin Cindric is keeping things professional after a tense moment with teammate Joey Logano, following Logano’s expletive-filled on-air rant after Talladega. Addressing the situation, Cindric acknowledged the tension and awkwardness but clarified there’s no lingering animosity between them.
During the Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega, Logano unleashed a string of f-bombs over the radio, accusing Cindric of not sticking to their planned strategy. Despite the blow-up, Cindric went on to win the race.
Cindric admitted the team meeting at Team Penske afterward was a bit uncomfortable. The two had to come face to face just days after their disagreement played out publicly.
Austin Cindric and Joey Logano’s Awkward Team Penske Follow-Up Meeting
“It’s always awkward, right?” Cindric told Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. “It’s one of the larger challenges of doing races like that when you expect so much out of each other and rely so much on each other. And I think there are way more times that I’ve had success on tracks like that because I’ve had my teammates around me and vice versa.
“So, I think that’s really important for us. It’s something we put a ton of focus on, and as a race team, you have to have those conversations.”
Austin Cindric on whether he had heard of Chipper Jones before this week, the Braves hat he kept in his car, the big wreath and the Penske competition meeting this week: @NASCARONFOX pic.twitter.com/ZeDwiYSgHt
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) May 3, 2025
The awkwardness stemmed from the dramatic finish at Talladega, where Logano publicly called out Cindric for not following their agreed-upon strategy. According to Cindric, the team meeting focused on figuring out what went wrong and how to improve their communication moving forward.
Adding to the conversation, Hall of Fame baseball player Chipper Jones weighed in on social media, defending Cindric and criticizing Logano’s reaction.
Asked about Jones’ support during media scrums at Texas, Cindric said, “I mean, I know of him, I know who he is. I don’t follow too much baseball, but to have someone like that, with eyes on our sport, a Hall of Famer, is really cool. Like I said already, the rest of it’s a lot of noise, but it’s cool to have someone like that behind me. But otherwise, yeah, definitely sounds like a NASCAR fan.”
With the Talladega win, Cindric earned his third career Cup Series victory. Meanwhile, Logano was disqualified after the race due to technical violations involving the rear spoiler, dropping from fifth to last in the official results.
Despite an early-season 50-point penalty, Cindric has climbed the standings with consistent top-20 finishes, helping to solidify his role within Team Penske.