RCR names two female drivers to development program, including daughter of Wally Dallenbach Jr.

By Jan 28, 2015, 5:54 PM EST
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Richard Childress is known as an innovator and a team owner who likes to give breaks, especially to young drivers.

Childress accomplished both Wednesday when it was announced that two female drivers have been named to RCR’s driver development program.

Kate Dallenbach and Ahnna Parkhurst will race under the RCR and Team Dillon Racing banners in 2015.

Dallenbach, 17, is the daughter of driver-turned-broadcaster Wally Dallenbach Jr., and Robin McCall Dallenbach, a former driver herself with two starts in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Kate’s grandfather, Wally Dallenbach, was a longtime Indy car driver and chief steward for the former CART series.

Dallenbach will compete in dirt and asphalt races this season.

“Some RCR and TDR members and I have been watching Kate for several years and have been impressed with her driving ability,” Childress said in a release. “She is a quality driver in races and the results from her testing dirt Late Models have been very positive.

“I look forward to what the future holds for Kate, and we will do all we can to help her succeed.”

Dallenbach has been racing since she was 8 in quarter midgets and has progressed to win several local and regional championships in Texas, North Carolina and Florida.

This season, Dallenbach will compete in 20 races for Lee Faulk Racing and 10 others on dirt for RCR/TDR at Boyd Speedway in Georgia.

“I am honored and looking forward to being a larger part of RCR’s Driver Development Program this year,” Dallenbach said. “As a driver, I’m looking forward to improving my racing skills and winning some dirt and asphalt races. I hope to start testing Trucks in the future, as well.”

Parkhurst, 14, is an Augusta, Ga., native entering her second season of competitive racing. She will race in the dirt Crate Late Models for RCR/TDR.

“Ahnna has an incredible natural talent and absorbs everything she can to become a better driver every time she races,” Childress said. “Everything I have seen and heard about her racing has been positive. She is going to learn and improve even more this year on the dirt tracks and I look forward to watching that progress.”

In 42 Mini Outlaws races in 2014, Parkhurst won 13 and finished runner-up 12 times at Millbridge (N.C.) Speedway. Her schedule is planned for 40 races, split between Boyd (Ga.) Speedway, Swainsboro (Ga.) Speedway and Modoc (S.C.) Speedway.

“I raced just about every other Wednesday night from March until November of last year,” Parkhurst said. “RCR and TDR said they are going to give me their best effort to be competitive and try and win races. It’s up to me to give them my best efforts in return.”

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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.”