IndyCar drivers ready to face Le Mans

By Jun 22, 2013, 8:42 AM EDT
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IZOD IndyCar Series fans will be busy watching the proceedings this weekend at Iowa Speedway, but they also ought to keep tabs on the 24 Hours of Le Mans as well, which will see some current and former open-wheelers take part in the famous sports car event.

Topping the list of IndyCar veterans in the field at Le Mans are Mike Conway (pictured) and Ryan Briscoe, who have both competed in IndyCar this season at various points. Conway, who won the first Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit race for Dale Coyne Racing, will compete in the LMP2 category for the No. 26 G-Drive Racing team alongside Russia’s Roman Rusinov and Australia’s John Martin.

Conway and his partners managed to put their Oreca-Nissan on the front row of the LMP2 class, qualifying second in the category and 10th overall for today’s event.

“Once you get to know the track, it’s a lot of fun to drive,” Conway said on Friday according to AutoWeek. “[Qualifying in second] on old tires was fantastic, but it’s going to be a tough, long race and anything can happen. Being at Le Mans though and experiencing my first 24 hour race is very special, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow and hoping we have a good race.”

Also having his inaugural experience at Le Mans is Briscoe, who has suited up for Panther Racing (Detroit, Milwaukee) and Chip Ganassi Racing (Indianapolis 500) in 2013 while pursuing full-time duties in the American Le Mans Series.

Briscoe will also battle in the LMP2 class for Level 5 Motorsports in their No. 33 Honda/HPD ARX 03b, which he’ll share with team owner Scott Tucker and Marino Franchitti. This particular driver combo has already hit paydirt this season in the ALMS, claiming the P2 category title at the 12 Hours of Sebring. However, they’ll have to work their way up as the race plays out after qualifying 18th in class and 26th overall.

Past IndyCar drivers are also lending a bit of open-wheel flavor to the grid at Le Mans. Among the notables are Bertrand Baguette (who almost won the 2011 Indy 500 but had to pit for fuel in the final laps) and Martin Plowman, who’ll team up with Mexico’s Ricardo Gonzalez as part of the No. 35 Oak Racing Morgan-Nissan LMP2 squad. Former Firestone Indy Lights champion J.K. Vernay, Shinji Nakano, Tristan Gommendy, Ryan Dalziel, and Nicolas Minassian are among the other ex-open wheelers on the grid as well.

The 90th anniversary race of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is slated to begin this morning at 9 a.m. ET.

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.”