Austin Cindric scored NASCAR Cup Series career victory No. 3, nipping Ryan Preece at the checkered flag by less than half a car length to win Sunday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway.
But it wasn’t the finish — exciting as it was — that will likely have a lot of people talking for the next several days and possibly a lot longer. Nor will it likely be that NASCAR later disqualified Preece because his RFK Racing Ford failed postrace inspection.
It was THAT close! 📸 pic.twitter.com/MGULS6Ejx0
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) April 27, 2025
Joey Logano Disses Teammate Austin Cindric In Profanity-Laced Tirade
Before Austin Cindric delivered Team Penske its first win of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season with his drive to victory at Talladega, Cindric drew the fury of teammate Joey Logano.
So, what did Cindric do that made Logano — the three-time and reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion — so irate?
Generally-speaking, Logano wasn’t happy with the lack of drafting help he received from Cindric on the final lap of Stage 2. This allowed 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace to capture the stage win — and the playoff point for winning the stage — in his No. 23 Toyota.
Moments after taking the checkered flag that ended the stage, Logano ripped Cindric to shreds over his in-car radio.
“Way to go Austin, way to go, you (expletive) (expletive)!” Logano shouted. “Way to (expletive) go. What a stupid (expletive). You just gave it to (Wallace). Gave a Toyota a stage win. Nice job. Way to go. What a (expletive). Put that in the book again.”
Here’s the audio, in case you want to hear it for yourself. Hey, at least the unsavory language is bleeped out.
Sooooo … Joey Logano isn't thrilled with his teammate right now … 👀 pic.twitter.com/hUOpcQHwk9
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 27, 2025
Logano took on a far more politically correct tone, however, when asked post-race by FOX Sports reporter Regan Smith about it being “nice to see a teammate in Victory Lane.”
Still, Logano stopped short of congratulating Cindric.
“It’s about time one of us wins these things,” Logano said. “You think about the amount of laps led by Team Penske and Ford in general, and we just haven’t been able to close. So, to see a couple Fords there on the front row duking it out … I wish one of them was me in a selfish way. But it’s also good to see those guys running up there and being able to click one off for Penske.”
So, What Really Fueled Joey Logano’s Anger Toward Austin Cindric At Talladega?
While it’s impossible to say for certain why Logano was so perturbed about what he believed to be Austin Cindric’s role in enabling Bubba Wallace to win Stage 2, there was undoubtedly more to Logano’s frustration than immediately meets the eye.
It stands to reason that Logano was ticked off not so much because Wallace took the stage but because of Wallace’s affiliation. Specifically, as Logano noted, Wallace drives a Toyota — a rival manufacturer of Team Penske, which fields Fords.
Wallace doesn’t just drive a Toyota, though. He competes for 23XI Racing, which holds a close technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing — Logano’s old team. Logano, who began his NASCAR Cup Series career with JGR in 2009, raced four seasons with the team before being fired by team owner Joe Gibbs after the 2012 season.
While Logano’s dismissal was probably a blessing in disguise, considering he’s since earned all three of his NASCAR Cup Series championships, his outburst on Sunday at Talladega suggests he probably still harbors some bad blood toward his former team.
Cindric, it seems, just happened to be caught in the crosshairs of it all.
***Note: Logano crossed the finish line in fifth. However, NASCAR stripped him of the finish after finding an issue on his car in post-race inspection.
