Austin Cindric started 2022 by winning the Daytona 500 in his second attempt. Cindric ended the year in a North Carolina courtroom.
No worries, Cindric wasn’t the defendant. Instead, the 24-year-old revealed that he served on jury duty in December for a murder trial. After two weeks, the jury found the person guilty.
While Cindric is simply performing a duty most Americans do at some point in their lives, his notoriety and work schedule made that a difficult task.
Cindric revealed that “enough people knew who I was,” to get out of being the foreman, but he needed some help in some high places for it not to disrupt his season.
Team Penske owner Roger Penske’s lawyers sent a letter to the court and were able to get Cindric’s jury duty pushed to the NASCAR offseason.
That might sound bad, but it makes sense for a NASCAR driver not to serve on a jury in North Carolina during the season. For one thing, Cindric is on TV every week from February to November. And while many people may not recognize Cindric if they see him away from a race setting, he’s likely to be more recognizable in the North Carolina area.
Also, people will notice if Cindric isn’t at the racetrack. If Cindric reveals he’s going to jury duty, the case he serves on will get public attention. If he doesn’t reveal, the mystery of why he’s away will fuel speculation and keep him in the news. Either way, Cindric’s absence will be newsworthy, and the defense attorney and/or the prosecution may not want someone serving on a jury while being in the news. It’s just best to wait until the offseason, and Cindric isn’t on TV every week.
Cindric will look to defend his Daytona 500 crown this Sunday.
[AP]
