Tim Cindric, the father of NASCAR driver Austin Cindric, will return to Team Penske for the 2026 IndyCar season. The team recently announced its race strategist line-up for the 2026 season, with Thiem taking on a race-day role.

Team owner Roger Penske fired Tim about nine months ago in the wake of the Indianapolis 500 cheating scandal. Two Penske cars failed technical inspections during qualifying for the 2025 Indy 500. Both Penske vehicles reportedly had illegal rear attenuator modifications. The team subsequently fired Tim Cindric and two other executives.

However, the team hired Austin Cindric’s father ahead of the 2026 IndyCar season. This time, the team will separate leadership roles from racing roles, with Thiem only serving as race strategist and having no influence on rulemaking. Team Penske President Jonathan Diguid reflected on his return:

“I am excited about the Penske Racing lineup for the 2026 IndyCar season. I look forward to continuing to work with Josef (Newgarden) as we have had a lot of success together. Travis Law will be a great leader for David (Malukas) as he transitions to Team Penske.”

“Tim Cindric brings decades of experience to the Scott (McLaughlin) timing desk and given his experience and time in our organization, he will be a great addition to our lineup in his role as race strategist on race day,” he added.

2026 indy series The season begins on March 1 with the St. Petersburg Firestone Grand Prix on the streets of St. Petersburg. Austin Cindric’s father has since been picked up by Penske, Ron Ruzewski has moved to Andretti Global, and Kyle Moyer will team up with Arrow McLaren.

‘I was just starting to catch up on life’: When Austin Cindric’s dad opens up about his shocking firing from Team Penske

November 2025 Team Penske Driver Austin Cindric’s father, Tim, spoke to Racer.com. During the conversation, the former Penske employee opened up about recovering and enjoying life after unexpectedly leaving the team.

Since then, Tim has spent time with his family and talked about exploring new opportunities outside of motorsport. Reflecting on this, he Tell media:

“You know, I’m just catching up on life. I’ve had some interesting inquiries in and out of motorsport, but I’m not committed to anything yet. That’s just the way it is. There’s definitely more to life than motorsport. I find that’s all I’ve done with my life. But I’m open to interesting inquiries in and out of motorsport.”

Tim Cindric even missed his son Austin Cindric’s Supercars debut following his departure. Cindric drives the No. 5 Ford Mustang for Tickford Racing in the Adelaide Supercars Series. he finished the meeting P23 and earned praise from supercar legends.