NASCAR's decision not to suspend Austin Cindric for his hit on Ty Dillon came down to it happening at a road course instead of an oval. Dillon warns that this is the exact type of gray area that gets NASCAR into trouble.

NASCAR penalized Austin Cindric 50 points and fined him $50,000 on Wednesday for intentionally spinning Ty Dillon in last weekend’s Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas.

Last week at COTA, Austin Cindric turned Ty Dillon around in retaliation. NASCAR deemed it worthy of a penalty, but not suspension. In the past on high-speed ovals, officials have suspended drivers for a race for right-rear hooks.

Cindric retaliated with a right-rear hook on Dillon, which led to Dillon's car spinning wildly. To Dillon and his team, this driving appeared deliberate. Surprisingly, NASCAR officials decided not to penalize Cindric during the race, although there's a chance they might review it in the coming week.

Austin Cindric is short 50 points and $50,000 lighter in his wallet thanks to his retaliation against Ty Dillon. Cindric right rear hooked Dillon on the track at COTA.

Austin Cindric’s retaliation against Ty Dillon resulted in a points penalty. NASCAR announced Wednesday the Team Penske driver had been penalized 50 points and fined $50,000 after he turned Dillon on the front stretch in the opening laps of last weekend’s race at Circuit of the Americas.

Brad Moran, Managing Director of the NASCAR Cup Series, says the sanctioning body will be looking at the early-race incident between Austin Cindric and Ty Dillon to see if any penalties are necessary.

Ty Dillon is glad NASCAR penalized Austin Cindric for turning him last weekend at Circuit of the Americas, but was surprised that Cindric was not suspended. Dillon wasn’t the only driver surprised by NASCAR’s penalty to Cindric.

Austin Cindric has been punished after taking out Ty Dillon in the Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas on Sunday, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. gave his view