Updated: Kyle Busch wonders if there’s a conspiracy theory to put 88 and 3 on Daytona 500 front row

By Feb 16, 2014, 2:32 PM EST
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Update: Kyle Busch’s belief in a conspiracy theory to put the 88 of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 3 of Austin Dillon was half right. Dillon earns the pole, with a surprising effort that puts Martin Truex Jr. on the outside pole. Meanwhile, after sitting atop the speed charts for much of the session, Earnhardt fell to just seventh-fastest in his qualifying effort.

Whether you like him or not, Kyle Busch is never afraid to speak his mind — and did he ever during front row qualifying Sunday for next Sunday’s 56th Daytona 500.

When asked by Fox Sports anchor Chris Myers whether he thought Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s early pole-setting speed of 195.211 mph was going to hold up, Kyle Busch was … well, Kyle Busch.

“I don’t know, you know,” Busch said. “People do believe in conspiracy theories and whether the 88 and the 3 (driven by rookie Austin Dillon) are going to sit on the front row together, who’s going to be the pole sitter, we’re not sure. We’ll find out.”

“Oh boy,” Myers said with an uncomfortable laugh. “We haven’t even gone there but we know exactly what he’s talking about, don’t we?”

To which analyst and two-time Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip remarked, “I’ve heard that.”

Later in the broadcast, analyst Jeff Hammond caught up with Dillon and asked “Looking up at that leaderboard, how cool would it be to have that No. 3 alongside Dale Earnhardt Jr. in that No. 88?”

With teammates Ryan Newman still to make his qualifying run and Paul Menard being second to Earnhardt on the speed charts, Dillon replied, “I think it would be really special, but hopefully the RCR cars can take over the front row, for sure. That’d be cool. I’ve got Newman right here with me and Paul’s in second. It would be really special, though. … Our Dow Chevrolet’s fast. Hopefully we can put it where it deserves.”

As it turned out, though, the 88 and 3 will not be on the front row. Greg Biffle spoiled those plans with his qualifying effort, knocking Earnhardt off the pole with a very stout speed of 195.818 mph. Martin Truex Jr. then knocked Biffle off the front row, making it Dillon and Truex at the head of the pack for next Sunday’s Daytona 500.

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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.”