Earlier, a massive bombshell dropped in the NASCAR Cup Series community. Brad Keselowski announced that he will be parting ways with Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing. The details of the split between the two parties haven’t been made public yet, but like most of us, even the core team members within the Ford camp were stunned by this update.
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This also included Austin Cindric, who took over the No. 2 ride from Keselowski at Penske, while he moved on to RFK Racing. Recently, he spoke to Claire Lang about the 2012 Cup Series champion and shared his thoughts.
Cindric told Claire Lang, “Obviously, it’s a situation where I certainly don’t know a lot about, definitely from the internals. My reaction was probably along with most of you all, as far as learning that information. I have a relationship with Brad, right? Brad gave me my start in the Truck Series. It it was his idea to throw me in at Martinsville back in 2015. Obviously, he said he’s not done racing. He’s obviously a super talented guy and a smart guy. Definitely interested to see how it all plays out. Whether that’s from the team side, from our other 4 teammates there, but also see where Brad lands and what happens. I guess I’m kind of on the sidelines with you all, as far as observing, and see what happens there.”
As he mentioned, he was just as stunned as everyone else when the news broke. He and Keselowski actually shared an interesting history. Keselowski gave Cindric his big break in 2015; he made his Truck Series debut in the No. 29 Ford truck. And then in 2017, Cindric bagged a full-time run, which led to his first win in Canada, eventually finishing third in the championship race.
From there, his career has only gone upwards, being picked up by Team Penske. He won the then Xfinity Series title in 2020 and finished 2nd in 2021. That was enough to earn him a full-time seat at Team Penske in 2022 when Keselowski left for RFK Racing. Keselowski’s own tenure with his team will now conclude after five years.
Of course, everyone now wants to know where the veteran driver will go. There was talk of Kaulig Racing, especially since Dodge is trying to enter the Cup Series. Brad Keselowski has a special relationship with the American automobile giants. This is because his one and only title with Team Penske came in Dodge machinery. Unfortunately, Kaulig Racing has insisted that they have not initiated talks with the veteran driver.
Other options on the table could be competing with a smaller Cup team and gradually phasing himself out. If that is not on the cards, he could move down to the Truck or O’Reilly’s Series on a part-time basis. One of the reasons why Keselowski moved to RFK Racing was that he wanted ownership and control over the competition side of things. Therefore, his next role isn’t likely to be a race car driver.
If a Truck Series option is realistic, then there are many avenues open for him. First and foremost, there is the existing relationship with Ford, so Brad Keselowski Racing could field Ford Trucks. Option B could lean into the Dodge connection and tie the team up with RAM. If Ram is behind schedule with their Cup program, they can bank on Keselowski’s knowledge and make the big announcement for 2027.
After all, Dodge will need a star figure to represent their brand at the highest level of sport. And who better than a Cup champion, who also comes with tons of experience and expertise that can help Dodge settle back in the sport?