In November 2025, NASCAR Cup Series driver Austin Cindric visited Australia for his Supercar debut at Adelaide and spent nearly a month there. Following that, Cindric shared an emotional message for Scott McLaughlin and the team for an amazing off-season experience.The Team Penske driver made his Supercars debut at the BP Adelaide Grand Finals from November 27 to 30. He piloted the #5 Ford Mustang for Tickford Racing and gained valuable experience. He competed on three different circuits during his time overseas and drove the V8-powered Gen3 Supercar.Austin Cindric appreciated Scott McLaughlin for his support to help him tackle an unfamiliar racing environment. Also, from the very first day, Cindric referred to him as “sensei.” The Cup Series driver also claimed that driving the #5 Mustang was an emotionally meaningful experience for him, as his grandfather Jim Trueman was closely related to it.The Team Penske driver shared an Instagram post encapsulating all the moments and captioned the post:“Cam and Thomas were about as good of teammates as I could ask for. Cam was really my big brother for this whole trip, whereas Tom was more of the fun uncle... Dangerous combo, the three of us.”“Speaking teammates, teammate of the year goes out to Scott McLaughlin for being my sensei from Day 1. I knew I was jumping into the deep end and the pool would've been a lot deeper without his support,” he added. View this post on Instagram Instagram PostAustin Cindric drove at Sandown Raceway, The Bend Motorsports Park, and Adelaide Street Circuit in his off-season. Additionally, he wrapped his debut session in 23rd place ahead of the two-time Supercars race winner Jack Le Brocq and drew appreciation from Tickford stablemate and Supercar legends.“It’s big for the whole industry”: Austin Cindric got candid about the changes in the upcoming Cup Series scheduleDuring the 2025 regular season, Team Penske driver Austin Cindric was featured in an interview with SpeedFreaks. During the interaction, Cindric addressed the changes NASCAR has been planning for the 2026 season and praised the governing body for the same.In August 2025, the stock car racing association announced that it would add two off weeks during the regular season in 2026. Following that, the first week will be given to the drivers after the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Meanwhile, week two is scheduled ahead of the Iowa Speedway race.Reflecting on that, Austin Cindric appreciated NASCAR and told the press:"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 a little bit of that time off. So, I think that's big for the whole industry to have that."The Team Penske driver finished the 2025 season in 14th place in the driver’s standings. He logged one victory at Talladega Superspeedway in the spring, five top tens, and two top-five finishes, earning, 2156 points in 36 starts this season.