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Two days after this year’s 16-driver Chase field was set, Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric learned their pit crews were being switched. Neither driver was consulted. It was a Team Penske business decision. Throughout the season, Cindric’s crew out-performed Blaney’s that was plagued with numerous problems. When the 26-race regular season ended, NASCAR statistics showed Cindric’s crew ranked 10th on pit road while Blaney’s was ranked 32nd. Team Penske decided the best chance it had to win a championship was to swap the crews. “I completely understand the team’s perspective for why that is and obviously the opportunity for us moving forward,” said Cindric, who’s seeded 15th while Blaney is seeded second in the Chase. “I think the main level of frustration is I don’t get to see through the season with the guys that I feel like were responsible for me getting there, but… it’s not completely unprecedented to make changes to give the team the best chance.” Cindric says there are several people on the crew he worked with when he won races in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and he knows most of them because he’s worked out with them in the gym. Blaney also has worked with some of the crew members he’s getting starting in this weekend’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington. “Andrew Lackey, who’s the gasman, he was with me in trucks,” Blaney said. “He was with me all the way up until 2019 when Penske switched all the crews around. Jesse Mills (tire carrier), I was with him on that 12 car for the first couple of years. Jourdan Osinskie, the jackman, he was my jackman when we won the championship. He got moved to the 2 car (Cindric) this year, so I’m back working with him. The final two I haven’t worked with a ton through the years, but you get to know all those guys.” Blaney believes switching the crews “speaks highly” of Team Penske’s depth because the movement is “pretty seamless.” He said he spent time with his new pit crew this week, asking them what they needed from him when he pulls into his pit stall. “I feel like everyone has their own quirks, so just talking to those guys has been super helpful to me,” Blaney said. “If there is something that they want differently, then I will for sure adjust to that.” Cindric said he divides a NASCAR Cup team into three different groups—the road crew, those who focus on the car’s performance, and then those who perform the pit stops. “Those three groups feed off of one another, the energy and from a culture standpoint when one is down the other one is gonna pick each other up,” Cindric said. “I think leadership in my role can be defined in so many different ways. I go about it the way I want to, and I feel like I try to be as available as possible.” A North Carolina native, Deb Williams is an award-winning motorsports journalist who is in her fourth decade covering auto racing. In addition to covering the sport for United Press International, she has written motorsports articles for several newspapers, magazines and websites including espnW.com, USA Today, and The Charlotte Observer. Her awards include the American Motorsports Media Award of Excellence, two-time National Motorsports Press Association writer of the year, and two-time recipient of the Russ Catlin award. She also has won an award in the North Carolina Press Association’s sports feature category. During her career, Deb has been managing editor of GT Motorsports magazine and was with Winston Cup Scene and NASCAR Winston Cup Scene for 18 years, serving as the publication’s editor for 10 years. In 2024 she was inducted into the NMPA Hall of Fame.