Chase Elliott’s latest suspension has definitely made waves in NASCAR. However, fans might soon have something else to talk about as drivers who may soon find themselves in the shoes of Elliott and Denny Hamlin are Austin Cindric and Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Dillon. This past weekend saw the two have a heated moment at Gateway. The incident has made headways, even leading the RCR owner to make a bold statement.
Following the incident, Dillon’s boss and, more importantly, grandfather, Richard Childress spoke out on the bias against Dillon. Asking for punishment or a suspension for Cindric similar to that of Elliott’s, Childress classified this wreck as a form of payback.
While the calls for a ban have risen, fans from the pro-Elliott side of the fandom have continued to rally their voices in favor of a suspension.
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Richard Childress Calls Out Cindric in a Press Conference
The Team Penske driver, at the moment, finds himself in the thick of it. The 24-year-old’s move has incurred the wrath of fans and Childress alike. On lap 219, the pair were competing for the twelfth position, entering turn 1. As it happened, Cindric’s #2 Mustang clipped the right rear of Dillon, sending him into Ricky Stenhouse Jr, who went into the outside wall. Here is how it happened.
Who's at fault?
Austin Cindric gets into Austin Dillon and they collect Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #NASCAR #EnjoyIllinois300 pic.twitter.com/77UoiB0xNi
— Always Race Day (@AlwaysRaceDay) June 5, 2023
The miscalculation by Cindric was a close call for Stenhouse Jr as well. The JTG Daugherty Racing driver said, “Obviously, we’re striving to be better everywhere. We had a really good streak going of really good runs. It looked like the No. 2 just, for some reason, right-reared the No. 3 and took both of us Chevy guys out”
“So that’s a bummer!”
However, the person who was arguably the most vocal about the crash was the RCR team boss.
Fans could see that he was not happy with what had gone down during the race. But the reason it was all quite evident was that although the reporter asked him a question about his other driver Kyle Busch and the #8 team’s win, Childress managed to sneak the crash into the conversation.
The reporter asked, “You said over the radio after Kyle took the checkered flag, there’s no one I’d rather have in that position than you. What has he meant to the organization?”
To which the 77-year-old replied, “Well, he [Busch] has helped us all around. Number one, he’s winning races, showing we can win races. He’s helped Austin a whole lot. Austin has had some really good runs.
“He [Austin] had drove up to about 10th until the 2 car [Cindric] wrecked him in there on purpose, sort of a payback.”
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NASCAR authorities and their decision-making system have been questioned yet again. Amid the rants over Cindric’s move from Childress, fans continue to back his opinion on the issue. They have been asking for a penalty, especially after seeing the treatment of Chase Elliott following the incident with Denny Hamlin at Charlotte.
Most of the comments go in favor of a penalty for Cindric. Citing the rules and a need for consistency in sentences, the fans further question the intentions of the Penske driver.
That's a 1 week suspension, right?
— Bryce (@hamybuck) June 5, 2023
“Suspend him. NASCAR is against a wall now. They played with fire and now it’s going to burn.”
Some fans have expressed their concern over the irregularity in decisions by NASCAR. “Definitely not as obvious as previous right hooks. I doubt he sits out a week.”
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“So when ya gonna make the call @NASCAR ????”
“and we got another one in less than a week after chase”
Giving thoughts on the ‘payback’ allegation, a fan said, “I thought the same thing when it happened. The 2 definitely turned left into the 3 before it was time to make the turn into 1. Not as obvious as Bubba or Chase but I’m with RC on this one.”
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WATCH THIS STORY: Fans trash Richard Childress Racing’s flaw as Kyle Busch’s North Wilkesboro return ruined
The only option, in this case, seems like a one-race suspension for Cindric. Following Childress’ accusations after the event, it is hard to maintain the stance of tolerance on the issue.