Dale Earnhardt Jr blames systemic NASCAR issue | Sports News

Dale Earnhardt Jr. insisted NASCAR needs to be more clear over drivers hooking one another after Austin Cindric was penalized for his actions on Ty Dillon.

During the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA), which was eventually won by Christopher Bell, Cindric was caught up in a controversial clash. On lap 4, Cindric hooked Dillon after he was shoved off the track.

Dillon had managed to push Cindric off the track to the right side after hurtling around a corner, and the 26-year-old got his revenge. He turned left into Dillon’s back right bumper, spinning him around and sending him to the wall.

As soon as the incident happened, fans debated over whether Cindric should face a severe penalty. NASCAR could have suspended him, which would have stripped any playoff points earned during the regular season.

Instead, NASCAR fined Cindric $50,000 and docked him 50 driver points. Amid suggestions thepromotion did not get the call right, Earnhardt Jr. suggested drivers like Cindric understand that such actions are wrong.

“I think so, yeah. I think so,” Earnhardt Jr. said on his ‘Dale Jr. Download’ podcast. “Listen, drivers are going to complain about this. But they know right-hooking somebody at 180 miles an hour is always bad.

“And what they would like NASCAR to do is just say, ‘Hey, no right hooks period.’ But NASCAR’s not doing it.”

He added: “NASCAR’s going to say, ‘Hey, we’re going to let y’all race, we’re going to let y’all make bad decisions. We’re going to let Austin Cindric make a bad decision. We’re going to penalize him, he got 50 damn points.’”

Cindric has traditionally fared well on the road course at Circuit of the Americas, finishing in the top 10 in 2022 and 2023. But he could only finish 25th after getting tangled up with Dillon.

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Ultimately, it was clear to NASCAR that Cindric’s move was worthy of discipline even if his frustration was justified. NASCAR has said it wants to crack down on drivers intentionally crashing others; Chase Elliott was suspended for a race when he hooked Denny Hamlin into the wall on the front stretch at Charlotte in 2023.

Cindric was 11th in the Cup Series standings and 36 points back of the lead, but now finds himself in 34th with just 30 points. he will look to get back to form at the Shriners Children’s 500 at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, March 9.