Next up for IndyCar: The ‘Mega’ Month of May

By Apr 28, 2014, 8:15 AM EDT
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If you are related to or live with a race fan, and he or she starts to hum ‘It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,’ don’t be alarmed.

Because for many race fans around the world, the month of May is effectively a second holiday season.

And the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend is our Christmas/Hanukkah/Chrismukkah (remember that one?)/Festivus: The Monaco Grand Prix, Indianapolis 500, and Coca-Cola 600, all in one day.

What neat gifts. But for those who follow IndyCar, they’ll be getting one more present this May.

The Verizon IndyCar Series will still have its homecoming at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but it’s gotten bigger – and a bit different. Call it the ‘Mega’ Month of May at the Brickyard, as the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis on IMS’ revamped road course (May 10) emerges as a lead-in for our beloved Greatest Spectacle in Racing (May 25).

While I’m not certain that the GP of Indy has been able to capture every heart within the IndyCar fan base, I sense that with two weeks to go, some of the uncertainty has been replaced with intrigue.

It helps that the key players are itching to see what all that construction work inside the Speedway over the winter and early spring has yielded.

“It’s a new challenge for everybody,” said Ryan Hunter-Reay after his win yesterday at Barber Motorsports Park. “That’s the great thing about it, everybody starts from scratch there.

“It may be that the Grand Prix of Indianapolis will have its own type of setup. It may be similar to some tracks [we already race on]. We don’t know yet. That’s the challenge we’re all looking forward to.”

He and the rest of the field won’t have to wait much longer to find out what sort of challenge they’re in for, as the first test on the IMS road circuit comes Wednesday.

But while the GP of Indy is next up on the schedule, the ‘500’ remains the biggest prize of all.

Calendar-wise, preparations for the 98th Running don’t offically get started until May 11, the day after the GP. But they’ll begin in earnest one day before the road course test on Tuesday, when NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Kurt Busch and 1995 Indy champion Jacques Villeneuve tackle the 2.5-mile IMS oval.

Busch, the first driver in a decade to attempt the Indy 500-Coke 600 double, will be working through his Rookie Orientation Program for Andretti Autosport, while Villeneuve will undergo his Refresher Test (the final two stages of ROP) for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.

It’ll be a busy two days, and it’ll give us an idea of what we could be in for this May at the world’s greatest racecourse.

So again, if you find that your favorite race fan is busting out holiday carols for seemingly no apparent reason, just give a knowing smile and be on your way.

However, feel free to call for help if they take to sipping egg nog. There are some seasonal lines you just don’t cross, after all.

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.”