Firestone extends backing of IndyCar race at Texas

By Mar 4, 2013, 4:00 PM EST
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Texas Motor Speedway president/general manager Eddie Gossage has confirmed that Firestone, the official tire supplier of the IZOD IndyCar Series, will remain the sponsor of the series’ summer event at TMS.

“Another great partner @FirestoneRacing announces a 3-year extension of our June @IndyCar race, the #Firestone550 ! Very proud 2 work w/ them,” Gossage tweeted earlier today.

In a statement, Firestone Racing executive director Al Speyer said that his company was thrilled to continue working with TMS through the 2015 season.

“In my opinion, the IZOD IndyCar Series at Texas Motor Speedway features some of the best racing on the planet and the Firestone brand is proud to be associated with it,” he said.

Since the 1997 season, Texas Motor Speedway has put on 24 IndyCar races, which have perennially been amongst the best-attended in the series outside of the Indianapolis 500. But the track’s presence on the open-wheel circuit was put into danger following the death of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon in the 2011 season finale at Las Vegas Motor Speedway — which features similar characteristics to TMS’ 1.5-mile, high-banked oval.

A palpable sense of anxiety amongst the drivers surrounded last June’s race at TMS, which was the first on a high-banked oval for IndyCar since the Wheldon tragedy. But a new aerodynamic package that put more control in the drivers’ hands helped break up the previous form of pack racing and the ensuing race was a bonafide barn-burner that saw Justin Wilson take the checkered flag in dramatic fashion:

That outing may have saved TMS’ open-wheel legacy, as toward the end of last summer, it was announced that the IndyCars would return to Fort Worth in 2013.

Now, with Firestone’s extension, it appears the IndyCar faithful will get to enjoy “America’s Original Nighttime IndyCar Race” for a few more seasons.

Ford Mustang GT3 test has Austin Cindric dreaming of Daytona: ‘I want to drive that car’

By Mar 22, 2023, 2:30 PM EDT
Cindric Ford GT3 test
Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
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Austin Cindric wasn’t the “mystery” test driver behind the wheel of the new Ford Mustang GT3 at Sebring International Raceway, but the Team Penske driver desperately wanted to be.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, an amateur sports car driver himself, made the big reveal via a Tuesday tweet that provided the first video evidence of the GT3 Mustang on track.

“I’ve watched the video in question about a million times,” Cindric said Wednesday during a Ford Performance Zoom news conference to promote NASCAR’s first road course weekend of the season at Circuit of the Americas. “Definitely exciting times for sure. I want to drive that car. It suits my experience level and also the relationships that I have.”

Ford will enter the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship next season with its GT3 Mustang, entering a two-car factory effort (that will be managed by Multimatic) in GTD Pro and making customer cars available in the GT Daytona category.

That increases the likelihood of seeing more NASCAR drivers crossing over to IMSA. Cindric has been the only full-time Cup driver in the Rolex 24 at Daytona the past two years, but Ford Performance global director Mark Rushbrook has said the GT3 Mustang will provide more opportunities.

Ford has used its GT4 Mustang as a NASCAR driver development tool in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge with Harrison Burton and Zane Smith combining to win the season opener at Daytona International Speedway in January.

“We’re excited about the Next Gen car and the new architecture there and the similarities between that car and GT3 and even GT4 cars,” Rushbrook said at the announcement of the Ford GT3 program in January 2022 at Daytona. “We think it’s a great opportunity and to do be able to do that in a 24-hour race and get NASCAR drivers even more time is something we need to consider taking advantage of that opportunity.”

Given his sports car background, Cindric probably still would be in the Rolex 24 regardless. He has eight IMSA starts since the 2017 season opener at Daytona, racing a Lexus RCF GT3 and Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the GT category. The 2022 Daytona 500 winner made his second LMP2 start this year with Rick Ware Racing.

But Cindric’s preference naturally would be in a Ford, particularly with sports car racing enjoying convergence and crossovers in both GT and prototype racing.

“It’s an exciting time in GT racing, just as it is now for prototype racing with a lot of new regulations and manufacturers building new GT3 cars,” he said. “And also the opportunity with WEC (the World Endurance Championship) and Le Mans and how that all lines up for that category of car. It’s definitely an exciting time. I want to be as much of a part of that as possible.”

Though those odds seemingly will increase with multiple Ford entries in the Rolex 24 field next year, Cindric said NASCAR drivers still have to put in the networking to land rides as he has in recent years.

“Now how (the GT3 Mustang) relates to specifically NASCAR drivers and how often they want to be in the Rolex, could it be an influence? Absolutely, as far as the tie-in with the manufacturer,” Cindric said. “But the challenge and the drive and the logistics of getting an opportunity for a race like the Rolex 24 will be just as challenging as it always is to find your one-off ride for the race. At least from my experience, that’s what I still anticipate.”

It turned out the “mystery” test driver wasn’t from NASCAR (Farley revealed the driver to be 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Joey Hand after a fan asked whether it was Joey Logano).

But Cindric believes there could be more Cup drivers — and perhaps himself — behind the wheel of Mustang GT3s in the future.

“There’s definitely more of a pathway than I think there would be before as far as Ford drivers are concerned,” he said. “Hopefully, I’ll get the opportunity to drive that thing. It’s obviously a great looking car. That’s the first box you’ve got to check. And it’s cool (to have) a guy like Jim Farley, no doubt he’s a racer just as much as he is steering the ship for Ford. It’s cool to see he’s just as excited as the rest of us about it.”