Team Penske swaps Blaney, Cindric pit crews for playoffs
NXTbets Pro | Published On: September 1, 2026
Pit-crew swap
Team Penske swapped the over-the-wall pit crews for Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 Ford and Austin Cindric’s No. 2 Ford before the start of The Chase presented by Mobil 1, and a team spokesperson confirmed the move. The switch began with the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway and was expected to last for the remainder of the season. Blaney worked with the crew led by Keiston France, Justin Fox, Trevor Apsey, Graham Stoddard and Chris Conklin. Cindric got the group that had been tied to Blaney, Justin Armwood, Geoffrey Wall, Jesse Mills, Jourdan Osinskie and Andrew Lackey. Team Penske had already added Stoddard as jackman in April, and the latest adjustment changed both stalls at once as the postseason opened.
Blaney context
Blaney entered the postseason as the No. 2 seed, 25 points behind Denny Hamlin, with three wins, six top-five finishes, 17 top-10s and a career-best four poles. The new crew came after a stretch in which his original group struggled badly on pit road. Through Daytona, that crew ranked 32nd among 35 full-time teams and had cost Blaney a series-worst 129 positions on pit road. The swap gave Blaney a different over-the-wall group after a season in which he still put himself in strong position on track. It also marked his second major pit-crew change of the year, after Penske brought in Stoddard in April. The move gave Blaney a different support group as the Chase began.
Cindric context
Cindric entered the Chase as the No. 15 seed of 16, 95 points behind Hamlin, with two top-five finishes and six top-10s and no wins. His original pit crew ranked 10th in the series after Daytona, a different profile from the group that had been working with Blaney. That gave both drivers a new rhythm on pit road at the same time. For Cindric, the change came with a lower starting position in the postseason and a 95-point gap behind Hamlin. For Blaney, it paired a different over-the-wall setup with a driver who had entered as the No. 2 seed after the organization had already made one personnel move earlier in the year. The crew swap left Penske with a reshaped lineup around both cars as the Chase began.
