RLL duo notch double Top-10s in Houston Race 1

By Oct 6, 2013, 11:00 AM EDT
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For the first time since the June doubleheader at Detroit’s Belle Isle Park, Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s tandem of James Jakes (pictured) and Graham Rahal both came away with Top 10 finishes in yesterday’s first race of the Shell/Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston.

Jakes, who finished sixth after starting ninth, was able to overcome a pit miscue in which a radio miscommunication caused him to enter the pits for his first stop – only to have his No. 16 Acorn Stairlifts crew not be ready to service his car.

That forced the Englishman to come back in on the following lap, sending him to the rear of the field. But with the help of some timely yellows and hard driving on his part, Jakes was able to claw his way back up the pylon during the remainder of the 90-lap event.

“We managed to pick a lot of people off [in the first stint] and the car was working well but then we had a miscommunication in the pits and did an extra pit stop than we needed to,” Jakes said. “We had to work our way up from there. It’s a shame because I think without that we could have been on the podium. We will see what [today] brings.”

The sixth-place run also snapped an extended cold streak for Jakes, who had not banked a Top-10 run since placing second in Race 2 of the Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit. Additionally, he had bowed out early from the two previous races at Sonoma and Baltimore due to mechanical problems.

As for Rahal, he turned in a stellar performance, rocketing from 24th starting position to seventh at the finish in a drive that may have impressed his primary backer for the weekend, Blu Electronic Cigarettes (which has a major presence in the paddock this weekend at Reliant Park).

Adding more impressiveness to Rahal’s effort is that he was one of several drivers that were assessed a 10-spot grid penalty for an unapproved engine change on his No. 15 Honda.

“To go from 24th to seventh is always a good day – you can’t complain,” Rahal said. “I think we could have, and should have had [Jakes] and [fifth-place Josef] Newgarden there at the end but ran out of time. There was some close racing there so I just figured I would be a little bit smarter and lift off.”

With this morning’s qualifying session for Race 2 canceled due to heavy rains, both drivers will have to start toward the back once again as the grid will be set by entrant points. Rahal will go off 18th, Jakes from 20th.

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.”