Cindric was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and attended Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, where he was a four-year basketball letterman through 1990. His career in motorsports began at the management level rather than behind the wheel, and he developed a reputation as a meticulous operational and strategic executive across multiple series.
Cindric served as Team Manager for Team Rahal from 1994 to 1999, gaining experience across the CART IndyCar series. In October 1999, he joined Penske Racing, the organization founded by Roger Penske that had become one of the most decorated teams in American motorsport history. Cindric was promoted to President of Penske Racing in January 2006, a position that gave him broad authority over the team's day-to-day operations, competition strategy, and driver lineup management.
Beyond the administrative role, Cindric acted as strategist for Penske's IndyCar entries. He served in that capacity for Will Power through 2016 and for Josef Newgarden from 2017 onward. His strategic contributions directly supported three IndyCar championship seasons: 2014 (Power), 2017 (Newgarden), and 2019 (Newgarden). The pair of Newgarden titles in particular were widely credited in part to Cindric's on-box decision-making at critical moments during championship-deciding races.
Cindric was fired from Team Penske in May 2025, three days after an incident at the 2025 Indianapolis 500 qualifying session in which cars driven by Will Power and Josef Newgarden failed technical inspection for having a modified part during the Firestone Fast 12. The disqualification was one of the most prominent technical violations in recent IndyCar history and marked a significant moment for a team long regarded for its operational precision.
In January 2026, Team Penske announced that Cindric would return to the organization in a strategist role for IndyCar driver Scott McLaughlin, signaling a partial rehabilitation of the relationship between Cindric and the Penske operation.
Cindric's son Austin Cindric won the 2022 Daytona 500 and competed extensively across NASCAR's ladder system, including the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, Pirelli World Challenge, ARCA, and several NASCAR national series. Austin was part of the group of five drivers — alongside Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, and Sam Hornish Jr. — who helped Team Penske win the NASCAR Xfinity Series Owner's Championship in 2017. Austin has raced full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series for Team Penske and previously competed in the Camping World Truck Series for Brad Keselowski Racing.
Tim Cindric's tenure at Team Penske spans one of the organization's most prolific IndyCar periods, encompassing multiple championships and Indianapolis 500 victories under drivers he helped manage and strategize for. His expertise in open-wheel race strategy and team administration made him a key figure in American motorsport for more than twenty years, and his association with championship-winning campaigns at Penske defines his professional legacy.