10 days. That’s how much time Austin Cindric had to prepare for the 24 Hours of Daytona. The endurance race tests drivers to the limit both physically and mentally, but the 26-year-old rose to the challenge effortlessly, filling in for Ben Barker who broke his collarbone in a skiing incident. It was his first time driving the Mustang GT3 for Ford Multimatic Motorsports, and the Ohio native not only lived up to the expectations but surpassed them by securing a podium finish at the prestigious event.
Despite the circumstances, Cindric believes that his car could have done better. He has reason enough to think so, as the other Ford Multimatic Motorsports team went on to win the GDT Pro Class at Daytona International Speedway.
Austin Cindric feels the car could do more
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Austin Cindric left no stone unturned to prepare for the Rolex 24. The Cup Series racer was announced as Barker’s replacement on January 6th, and it was an opportunity the 26-year-old was eager to grab with both hands. Sharing his thoughts after being offered a chance to compete, the Ohio native said, “I’m grateful for the call and to be thought of for a program that’s this involved.” Given the time constraints, the Team Penske driver spent a significant amount of time on the simulator, as well as thoroughly studied the GT3 manual in case circumstances didn’t play in his favor.
Ultimately, it all paid off. Sharing his thoughts about finishing third at the Rolex 24, Austin Cindric candidly told Frontstretch’s Phil Allaway, “Yeah, it was obviously an amazing result for Ford. Cool to be part of it. Keep the car clean and end up with some hardware so good way to start the year.” When asked if he was satisfied with the outcome, the racer said, “I’m definitely satisfied. I feel like honestly for our car, you know, maybe even third wasn’t quite the maximum so the sister car did an awesome job and drove phenomenally in the race.”
It was an opportunity Cindric couldn’t pass by. The chance to compete at the 24 Hours of Daytona, particularly for a team like Ford Multimatic Motorsports doesn’t come every day, and with the Mustang GT3 program being in its second year, the team managed to fix some of the issues that were prevalent in 2024. As a result, the 26-year-old was fourth fastest in class, despite his lack of practice in the car, having driven it for the first time on January 17th.
Unsurprisingly, Austin Cindric’s teammate Mike Rockenfeller managed to secure the GTD Pro pole while Frederic Vervisch from the sister team ended up second. During the race, both the Mustang GT3s were in the mix for the victory, but Dennis Olsen proved to be the difference maker, propelling the No. 65 to a victory while Austin Cindric’s side finished 5.766 seconds behind in third place. Considering that both teams were in identical cars, it’s not surprising that Cindric felt that his No. 64 team could have done better than third, despite being happy with the podium finish.
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Cindric sheds light on the lack of NASCAR drivers at Rolex 24
Isn’t it strange that the Rolex 24 has very few NASCAR drivers, despite the endurance event being held at Daytona International Speedway? The 2.5-mile tri-oval hosts two Cup Series races every year, with the crown jewel Daytona 500 being one of them. However, even though stock car racing drivers are familiar with the venue, only four out of 61 entries at the 24 Hours of Daytona come from a NASCAR background. Austin Cindric is one of them and the Team Penske racer shed light on the underlying reasons for it.
In a recent interview with Bob Pockrass, Cindric spoke about NASCAR’s sparse presence at the Rolex 24, saying, “The novelty factor of getting a NASCAR guy in the car I think definitely carries some weight from an American TV standpoint. Obviously, a bit of an unknown value as far as the performance in the car and learning the car and this and that. So, obviously, myself and Shane [van Gisbergen] are a bit different than most of the guys in the Cup field with the average GT3 experience.”
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However, while lack of GT3 experience might be a valid reason for few NASCAR drivers competing in the Rolex 24, Austin Cindric does believe that where there is a will, there is a way. The 26-year-old went on to say, “I think those who wanna do it really bad, end up doing it. I definitely wanted to do it, really bad all these years,” In this year’s iteration, Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch were the other two high-profile NASCAR drivers who participated at the 24 Hours of Daytona, while part-time Truck Series racer Parker Kligerman finished 13th in the GTD class for Forte Racing.