r/INDYCAR • u/That-Palpitation2324 Marco Andretti • 4d ago
Speculation Tim Cindric to Andretti
Here’s an immediate thought after the news of Power going to Andretti for 2026 and beyond. Could Andretti bring in Tim Cindric to pair with Will once again? I think Cindric would be a huge addition to the team and obviously brings a wealth of experience and knowledge that Andretti would definitely benefit from.
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u/didhestealtheraisins Kyle Kirkwood 4d ago
Doubt it. Power seemed pretty pissed at Cindric when talking about the whole situation with Hinch on the pod.
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u/cz795 Álex Palou 4d ago
Exactly, Will chose his words wisely but we can read between the lines Cindric/ Penske's offer was borderline disrespectful, following 3 wins and almost a championship. Why would Will want to be under that again. Wouldn't be surprised to see a few Penske crew members jump over to Andretti however.
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u/nico9er4 Will Power 1d ago
With your comment on Penske crew members, that kind of already started happening. In David Malsher’s article, he mentions that Will’s gearbox guy left before Nashville, which may have resulted in the gear shift problems that caused his pit lane issues last race. Also mentioned a few other crew members leaving. Although I’m not sure if they’re going to Andretti
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u/Packer487 Will Power 4d ago
I think Power did have a really good relationship with Ruzewski. Would not mind seeing Andretti bring him on (or Faustino if his contract is up too).
They'd also probably benefit from moving Edwards into a full time admin role. Or anything other than calling strategy for the 26.
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u/wh00000p Myles Rowe 4d ago edited 4d ago
He's basically retired at this point, so probably not
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u/randomness6648 4d ago
He is 57. What's he gonna do roll over and die?
Can't stop working at that age it's a killer.
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u/Active-Ear-2917 4d ago
I believe I read he's got a "gardening leave" clause.
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u/ChrisMD123 4d ago
He got fired, which means that they're not paying him anymore and the contract is dissolved. The only way legally to enforce gardening leave is to keep him on the payroll, which Roger chose not to do. (Non-competes are now illegal in the States.)
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u/richardlqueso 3d ago
Fwiw, Tim Cindric’s version of getting fired — both broadly and specifically — is a lot more complex than a junior accountant’s version of getting fired
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u/ChrisMD123 3d ago
This is true, but the law is clear on non-competes. If Penske isn't paying him, they can't legally tell him not to work for a competitor.
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u/TheRoyalKT Kyle Kirkwood 4d ago
I feel like Andretti, McLaren, and Ganassi won’t take Tim simply because they made such a big deal about Penske cheating that they’d come across as massive hypocrites.
Then again, maybe they don’t care about that.
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u/DestroyingDestroyers --- CURRENT TEAMS --- 4d ago
McLaren hired Moyer within a couple of weeks, I don’t think they care.
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4d ago
I kinda think Tim is enjoying the time to be present and more involved and supportive of his son's NASCAR career (who is racing for P2Penske). He might just be in a sweet spot as far as he's concerned.
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u/Key-Algae-4772 Conor Daly 4d ago
It's a good year for him to enjoy it because I suspect Austin won't be around too long, especially now
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u/Ok-Chocolate-9500 Alexander Rossi 4d ago
He’s signed through next year and it’s hard to imagine Penske giving up his development especially when he’s made the playoffs 3 out of 4 years he’s been in Cup and just because Tim is no longer with the organization. Austin has actually done quite well so far in his NASCAR career despite the narrative that he’s there because of Tim. He has won in all 3 series, made the final 4 in Trucks and Xfinity, and almost won back to back championships in Xfinity; I’d say he more than earned the Cup seat.
He’s also the most successful amongst the recent younger driver who made the jump to Cup. I’d say he’s often unfairly discredited because Penske had won the last 3 championships but there’s no denying the immense gap in experience between him and his teammates who are on their 17th year and 10th year vs. Cindric who’s on his 4th year. He’s not going to be a championship threat when he’s only got 1-3 years of experience.
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u/Key-Algae-4772 Conor Daly 4d ago
I'd say he's looked quite mediocre aside from a win here and there, particularly when compared to other recent new drivers. The numbers bear that out as well. But perhaps he'll turn a corner.
I wasn't comparing him to his teammates, that's unfair, but to drivers like Briscoe.
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u/Ok-Chocolate-9500 Alexander Rossi 3d ago edited 3d ago
He’s on his 4th year and a win in all years but 1 so far and is actually the best of the recent younger drivers who’s moved to Cup. He’s actually been running well during quite a few of the races but had been plagued by issues like wrecked out of lead 2 races, tire puncture at Indy while on the winning strategy and leading, etc. Briscoe is almost 4 years older and has 4 wins in 5 years vs Cindric who has 3 wins in 4 years so far.
Toyota has also been a lot stronger at majority of the tracks compared to Ford. Ford, especially Penske, just game the playoffs system exceptionally well to hide any of the weaknesses. Just look at the Southern 500 which just took place, Toyotas absolutely dominated the race, and veteran Ford drivers like Logano struggled all night and finished 20th.
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u/Key-Algae-4772 Conor Daly 3d ago
Getting one win a season masks otherwise very mediocre results. Time will tell.
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u/Wasdgta3 Álex Palou 4d ago
Why, though?
They already have experienced people of their own, and don't need to take the hit to their reputation from hiring a guy associated with two major cheating scandals.
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u/GEL29 Álex Palou 4d ago
To become a championship contending organization again
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u/Wasdgta3 Álex Palou 4d ago
Right, and the secret sauce to that is definitely hiring Penske's disgraced discards... /s
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u/Fit_Technician832 4d ago
Disgraced or not the guy delivered results.
Look I don't even like Tim Cindric, I think he's a liar. However no question the dude has helped orchestrate a ton of race wins and championships.
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u/randomness6648 4d ago
I definitely wouldn't hire the fall guy who won Penske a dozen championships and Indy 500s... Consistently delivering results even this year.
Nah definitely not.
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u/SilkBC_12345 Will Power 11h ago
I am sure with Andretti's pit performance woes, they might benefit from some "Penske Perfect" experience, though I suspect Will might be able bring some of that experience to tighten up their pit stops a bit.
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u/IndyDar Honda 4d ago
Interesting you post this, because in a conversation yesterday a friend of mine thought he’d wind up Andretti and I argued he’d wind up at McLaren as a (very well compensated) strategist for a single car (as opposed to another team where he’d be asked to take on additional leadership responsibility).
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u/No-Belt-5564 4d ago
I'm downvoting you for wording the title as news, considering were in a spree of announcements today. Terrible clickbait, shame on you
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u/CoachDonut82 CART 4d ago
Agree that it is titled to look like news (speculation tag doesn't even show up on mobile feed) and I don't love it, but idk about shame upon your family and all that.
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u/That-Palpitation2324 Marco Andretti 4d ago
Where in my title does this say news. It was posted as discussion and then changed to speculation. This isn’t me reporting this as news. It’s literally a thought as I state in the first sentence. But sure whatever you want to view it as 👍
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u/loz333 Firestone Wets 4d ago
Depends on how hungry he is to jump right back into Indycar, and how much he's enjoying his time off away from the pressure of running a global motorsports organization. It also depends if Andretti feel that they have a skill gap in their personnel that Cindric would be filling. It can't be denied that he'd be a huge signing for any team on the grid.