DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Less than a month ago, Austin Cindric didn’t even have a ride for the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Sure, he wanted to get one and he had been putting feelers out there, but there was nothing available. He was more or less resigned to watching on TV
Then Ben Barker, the endurance driver for Ford Multimatic Motorsports’ No. 64, went on a ski holiday at Christmas and had an accident. A broken collarbone meant that he was going to be laid up and unable to compete at Daytona.
Enter Cindric.
On Jan. 6, Cindric was announced as Barker’s replacement for the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the accompanying ROAR Before the 24. That left him with a grand total of 10 days to prepare himself to drive the Ford Mustang GT3 for the first time.
“It’s tough to do all the preparation for a race, then not be able to do it,” Cindric told Frontstretch at IMSA Media Day on Jan. 16. “I’m grateful for the call and to be thought of for a program that’s this involved.”
That preparation included some simulator time, but also legitimate homework. GT3 cars have manuals that you have to study. Cindric had to spend some of his time going through the manual and memorizing aspects of it just in case somewhere were to happen.
At the time of Media Day, Cindric believed that this was likely the best effort that he was going to get as a full-time driver in the NASCAR Cup Series to compete in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Factory rides rarely come along.
He stated that since this is the beginning of the second year of the Mustang GT3 program, that they should be able to compete with the best of the competition in class for wins. A number of the people with the team had worked with him previously as far back as his days in what is now IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge as a 17-year-old.
As compared to 2024, Ford Multimatic Motorsports was immediately fast in Daytona. Cindric himself was fourth fastest in class in only the second session of the ROAR despite never driving the car prior to Jan. 17. That said, the pace wasn’t extraordinary.
When the race weekend itself started, Ford Multimatic Motorsports made themselves the team to beat. Cindric’s teammate Mike Rockenfeller won the GTD Pro pole for his first IMSA pole since 2006. Frederic Vervisch in the No. 65 Mustang was second.
Once the race came along, Ford Multimatic Motorsports showed that they were the best…
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