Team Penske driver Austin Cindric was recently featured in an interview with SpeedFreaks on YouTube ahead of the Coke Zero Sugar 400 scheduled for this weekend at Daytona International Speedway. During the interaction, Cindric praised the governing body for a major change in the 2026 schedule.On Wednesday, August 20, 2025, NASCAR revealed the 2026 Cup Series schedule. The 2026 season will kick off with the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium on Sunday, February 1, 2025. Following that, the first points-paying race, the Daytona 500, will be held at Daytona International Speedway on February 15, 2026.The sanctioning body made a tweak to the schedule by adding a two-week gap during the regular season. The first off week will begin after the Martinsville Speedway race on March 29, 2026, and the next race will be held at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday, April 12, 2026. The second off week is scheduled after the Indianapolis Motor Speedway race on July 26, 2026. Team Penske driver Austin Cindric was impressed by the decision and praised NASCAR for the same. He stated (via X):"Number one is two off weeks. That's, we need one in the middle of something. You think about it, we've been racing since easter, which I love. I love that, but god, it is a grind for everybody involved. And you know, a lot of people that I work with, all our families, and you know, those things are, you know, very important to have have a little bit that time off. So, I think that's big for the whole industry to have that."After landing a solid P5 finish at Richmond Raceway last week, Austin Cindric is set to compete at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, August 23, 2025. NBC Sports, MRN, HBO Max, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Ch. 90 will broadcast the 160-lap race live at 7:30 pm ET.“It's a scary sight”: Austin Cindric got candid about Connor Zilisch's Watkins Glen injuryEarlier this month, Cup Series driver Austin Cindric was featured in an interview with NASCAR analyst Claire B. Lang and shared his thoughts on Xfinity Series driver Connor Zilisch's injury. The JR Motorsports driver got injured while celebrating his sixth win of the season in the victory lane.Zilisch climbed up the roof of his #88 Chevy to celebrate, but his left foot got stuck in the window net, leading to an awkward fall on the concrete. The 19-year-old damaged his collarbone and required surgery; following the same, a metal plate was used to stabilize the bone in its place. Fortunately, his neck and head had no injuries.Reflecting on the same, Austin Cindric told the reporter:"That's a long way for a big, tall guy to fall from. So I guess the rookie mistake there was not putting the window net inside the race car. I do that because it covers up the door numbers and the pictures look bad. But yeah, it's a scary sight, honestly. I mean, it's kind of an upsetting thing to sit there and watch and, you know, kind of feel helpless about. I'm sure many felt the same, but I think his dad put out a tweet making fun of him, and I think that definitely calmed a lot of the nerves. Something probably very similar that my dad would have put too. ""So I can sympathize with that as well. Yeah, just a shame, but it's probably not going to stop me from being overly excited when I get out of the race car. But if you're going up on top, I guess the moral of the story is there, you might as well just stand on the roof," he added.Austin Cindric ranks 15th in the Cup Series points table with 543 points to his credit. Additionally, he secured one win, five top-ten finishes, and two top-five finishes in 25 starts this season.