NASCAR insider calls out 'inconsistent' ruling on Austin Cindric penalty, cites new waiver rule

NASCAR handed down a punishment to Austin Cindric on Wednesday for his right-rear hook of Ty Dillon and already the questions are flying in. One insider in the sport believes the organization might have just opened itself up to even more scrutiny in the future.

Cindric was penalized 50 driver points and fined $50,000. But he was not suspended, which would have removed all of his playoff points for the regular season.

The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck opined on the issue on Twitter immediately after the ruling. He noted:

“This was the first test of NASCAR’s new waiver rule that removes all playoff points for the regular season in the event of a suspension,” Gluck wrote. “From my view, NASCAR made an inconsistent ruling that raises more questions about when RR hooks are suspension-worthy and when they aren’t.”

There are at least a few incidents in recent history, though, that lend credence to the idea NASCAR is displaying some consistency. In fact, two of them were just last year.

One was an instance in which Carson Hocevar right-rear hooked Harrison Burton while under caution. The other was Austin Dillon right-rear hooking Denny Hamlin.

Neither driver received a suspension. And at least in Hocevar’s case, the wreck was at a lower speed, consistent with the reasoning for the ruling on Dillon.

NASCAR cited the following in explaining why Austin Cindric didn’t face a suspension: the race being on a road course, with lower speeds and tighter confines already, and that the incident didn’t lead to a caution flag.

In any case, the penalty will still sting for Cindric. Quite a bit.

As a result of the points penalty, Austin Cindric will drop from 11th in the standings to 34th. But avoiding a suspension was huge. Even if it creates more headaches for NASCAR in the future.