Ryan Newman looking for the “follow-through” at Kansas

By May 9, 2014, 6:30 PM EDT
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Currently sitting in the Top 10 in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points, Ryan Newman believes that the performance from himself and his No. 31 Richard Childress Racing team has been solid.

But he also believes that something’s been missing. He calls it the “follow-through.” Some may call it “execution,” but not him.

“We haven’t been the fastest and we’re not leading the most laps or anything like that, but we’re putting ourselves in contention,” he said today at Kansas. “What we haven’t done is seal-up the contention that we were holding; just that follow-through.

“I don’t want to call it ‘execution’; I want to call it the ‘follow-through’ of where we are. And finishing it off hasn’t been 100 percent or as good as I think it should or could be. So, when we’re running seventh, we finish 10th. And when we’re running fifth, we finish seventh.”

Newman’s claimed four Top-10s this year but only has a top finish of seventh, which he’s turned in twice already at Phoenix and Las Vegas back in the early spring. On the other side of the coin, he’s only had one finish outside of the Top 20.

However, with a win effectively meaning “You’re in” as far as making the Chase for the Sprint Cup, consistency won’t be enough.

Hence, Newman’s need to get that “follow-through” starting with tomorrow’s 5-Hour Energy 400.

“We just need to shine-up the performance a little bit with respect to finishing it and not just how we’re running in the middle of the race,” he said.

As for what he’s expecting in Kansas’ first-ever Sprint Cup night race, Newman is hoping for the track’s groove to widen out but isn’t sure that tonight’s 250-mile Camping World Truck Series race will be enough to do the job.

However, he feels that with the early evening start time for tomorrow’s race, there will be an opportunity to help the groove get farther up the track and provide himself and the other drivers with more room to race.

“With a 6:30 p.m. [CT] start time, the sun will still be out and there is a chance to put a little bit of rubber on the track and hopefully that will make a big difference,” he said. “When we’re out there, it’s barely two grooves wide now. I’m saying two car widths, not two grooves.

“So it’s really going to be dictated by that. Once we widen out the race track and have double-file restarts and that part of it – I just don’t see the Trucks really making the track that much wider just because of their speed and the quantity and quality of the trucks that are out there.”

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.”