What to watch for: IndyCar at Mid-Ohio (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN)

By Aug 4, 2013, 12:31 PM EDT
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FOUR IN A ROW FOR “DIXIE”?

Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon is on the verge of becoming the first driver to win four consecutive races under INDYCAR sanction, and a fifth career win overall at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course can certainly be done from the inside of Row 2.

With Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves, the guy in front of him in the IZOD IndyCar Series championship, having to start from 14th on the grid, Dixon is in prime position to cut into the Brazilian’s points lead (and for that matter, so is pole sitter Ryan Hunter-Reay of Andretti Autosport, who needs a big day to bolster his hopes for a second straight series title).

THE UNFORGIVING MID-OHIO

Mid-Ohio has won a reputation for being one of the most challenging road courses in America. Outside of starts and restarts, it can be hard to gain spots on the track at this narrow, undulating 2.26-mile road course – but very easy to lose them.

Keeping track position toward the front will be especially critical, and the drivers will need their pit crews to be sharp. A position or two gained coming out of the pits could mean a lot in the end.

POWER CHARGED UP

Team Penske’s Will Power remains winless in 2013, which is still one of the year’s notable surprises. But while he’s not challenging for a title, that also frees him of having to worry about the big picture.

“I am able to be a little bit more aggressive since we are not in the hunt for a championship like some of the other guys [starting] around me,” he noted after qualifying on the front row yesterday.  And that makes me think he’ll have a say in today’s outcome…

HEY, MR. WILSON

…The same goes for Justin Wilson, who has been reasonably quick throughout the weekend. That was probably expected considering that he and Dale Coyne Racing tested at M-O in June (and did so again in the series’ Open Test on Wednesday).

He narrowly missed out on the Firestone Fast Six on Saturday, but will still start a reasonable seventh on the grid. It also bears noting that he was fastest in this morning’s practice session. A podium finish for Wilson is a distinct possibility this afternoon.

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IZOD IndyCar Series – Honda Indy 200
Starting Grid/Tire Compound

Row 1
1-Ryan Hunter-Reay (ALTERNATE)
12-Will Power (ALTERNATE)

Row 2
9-Scott Dixon (ALTERNATE)
25-Marco Andretti (PRIMARY)

Row 3
83-Charlie Kimball (ALTERNATE)
10-Dario Franchitti (ALTERNATE)

Row 4
19-Justin Wilson (ALTERNATE)
77-Simon Pagenaud (PRIMARY)

Row 5
78-Simona de Silvestro (ALTERNATE)
16-James Jakes (PRIMARY)

Row 6
5-E.J. Viso (PRIMARY)
27-James Hinchcliffe (ALTERNATE)

Row 7
7-Sebastien Bourdais (ALTERNATE)
3-Helio Castroneves (ALTERNATE)

Row 8
14-Takuma Sato (PRIMARY)
18-James Davison (Rookie; ALTERNATE)

Row 9
4-Oriol Servia (PRIMARY)
67-Josef Newgarden (PRIMARY)

Row 10
11-Tony Kanaan (PRIMARY)
6-Sebastian Saavedra (ALTERNATE)

Row 11
*55-Tristan Vautier (Rookie; ALTERNATE)
15-Graham Rahal (ALTERNATE)

Row 12
20-Ed Carpenter (PRIMARY)
98-Luca Filippi (Rookie; ALTERNATE)

*Tristan Vautier has been penalized 10 spots on the grid for an unapproved engine change.

Watch today’s Honda Indy 200 from Mid-Ohio online and on your mobile device.

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.”