What to watch for: IndyCar at Pocono (Noon ET, NBCSN & Live Extra)

By Jul 6, 2014, 10:15 AM EDT
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BIG DAY IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP

After last weekend’s doubleheader in Houston, Will Power came out the same way he came in: Leading the Verizon IndyCar Series championship by 39 points over teammate Helio Castroneves. However, Ryan Hunter-Reay (-41 points) and Simon Pagenaud (-59 points), the guys in third and fourth respectively in the standings, made gains on the Australian. And with today’s 500-miler worth double championship points – which means a 100-point bounty for the winner – the race for the 2014 IndyCar crown could get even tighter should Power fail to convert his front-row start into a strong result.

BETTER LUCK FOR ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT?

Last year’s Pocono race was a disaster for Andretti Autosport. James Hinchcliffe crashed just moments after the green flag and Ryan Hunter-Reay was drilled by Takuma Sato on pit road. But perhaps no one was more disappointed in the Andretti camp than Pennsylvania boy Marco Andretti, who sat on pole and led the most laps but didn’t have the fuel mileage to get the win. Today, all four Andretti drivers are starting within the first three rows with rookie Carlos Munoz on the front row. Will the team have its revenge?

PERFORMANCE IN THE PITS

This year, Pocono has stretched its race distance by an additional 100 miles, which could impact the race. We’ll have to watch for fuel mileage emerging as a factor in the outcome, but the drivers’ pit crews will have several additional stops to perform as well. It was a bit tough to pass on track in last year’s race, and if that proves to be the case again today, gaining positions in the pits will be essential to success. These crews are going to earn their money.

GOOD THINGS COME IN THREES

Today’s race will feature a three-wide rolling start (a la the Indianapolis 500) before the drivers go off to navigate Pocono’s 2.5-mile triangular oval. All three turns at Pocono have different banking and all three straightaways that connect the turns have different lengths, which creates an all-around challenge for both car and driver.

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.”