Cindric was one of three high-profile staffers fired – alongside general manager Kyle Moyer and managing director Ron Ruzewski – on the eve of the Indianapolis 500 over the attenuator saga.
It ended a 25-year rein for Cindric at Team Penske that saw him climb to the lofty heights of president and second only to team owner Roger Penske.
He is the last of the trio to find his feet back in the IndyCar Series, with Moyer a race strategist at McLaren and Ruzewksi at Andretti Global as its team principal.
Cindric’s appointment is one of several changes at Team Penske, with team president Jonathan Diuguid to serve as Josef Newgarden’s strategist and Travis Law to work with Will Power’s replacement David Malukas in the same capacity.
“I am excited about our Team Penske lineup for the 2026 IndyCar season,” said Diuguid.
“I look forward to continuing to work with Josef (Newgarden), as we have enjoyed a lot of success together.
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“Travis Law will be a great leader for David (Malukas) as he makes his transition into Team Penske.
“Tim Cindric brings decades of experience to Scott’s (McLaughlin) timing stand, and given his experience and time within our organization, he will be a great addition to our lineup on race day in the role of race strategist.
“With the support of our strong and experienced engineering staff, technicians, and partners, the #2, #3, and #12 Team Penske entries are positioned well, and I am confident the team will fight for wins every race in the extremely competitive IndyCar field starting in St. Pete.”
In the wake of Team Penske’s triple takedown, the IndyCar squad suffered a dip in form.
So bad was the team’s form that it went winless until the third-to-last race of the season.
Speaking with Racer, Cindric said he was weighing up whether to retire from motorsport.
“I felt like I needed to do something, but I still wanted to stay true to the fact that I wanted flexibility in life,” Cindric explained.
“I’m not opposed to working full-time, but I’ve been there, done that in a lot of ways, and I hadn’t really found anything that was different than what I had done before.
“So I started considering some of these opportunities that I had to go back and just work on the weekends, or do some part-time stuff here and there, because I missed the competition.
“Six months ago, I probably would have told you that this wasn’t something that was in the cards.
“Then I got some offers where I thought that might not be a bad gig, all things considered, and when I left [Penske], I told them I really didn’t think I’d be looking to come back.
“But I changed my mind and wanted to tell them first, so after the first of the year, I sent JD [Diuguid] a note that basically said, ‘Hey, reaching out to you to let you know that I’m pursuing a path to where I’m seriously considering being a race strategist.’ And I told him, ‘I feel as though you probably already have your bases covered, but If not, I’d be open to a conversation’.”
Duguid entertained Cindric’s idea and ultimately rekindled the relationship between the former president and the team.
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