NHRA reveals 2016 schedule

By Sep 5, 2015, 2:53 PM EDT
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The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series has revealed its 2016 schedule at this weekend’s U.S. Nationals, with a handful of changes compared to 2015.

Las Vegas and Charlotte swap spots, with Las Vegas moving to the fourth round of the season on April 1-3 and Charlotte moving back to fifth, April 22-24. It’s about a week earlier for Las Vegas and a month later for Charlotte.

Epping, N.H. and Englishtown, N.J. also swap spots, with Epping moving ahead of Englishtown. Epping is now June 3-5 and Englishtown a week later.

After the four East Coast races and Chicago, the NHRA hits its traditional summer West Coast Swing at Denver, Sonoma and Seattle, then to Brainerd and lastly to back to Indianapolis for the 2016 edition of “the Big Go,” the series’ biggest race.

The Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship is identical in 2016 as it is this year: Charlotte, St. Louis, Reading, Dallas, Las Vegas and Pomona.

NHRA officials are currently talking with the new ownership group at Heartland Park Topeka, and an additional race could be added to the 2016 schedule pending the outcome of those discussions.

TV coverage shifts from ESPN to FOX Sports next year.

The schedule is linked below:

2016 NHRA MELLO YELLO DRAG RACING SERIES SCHEDULE
NHRA Mello Yello Series Regular Season

Feb. 11-14	Circle K NHRA Winternationals / Pomona, Calif.
Feb. 26-28	CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals / Phoenix
March 17-20	Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals (PSM) / Gainesville, Fla.
April 1-3	NHRA Nationals / Las Vegas
April 22-24	NHRA Four-Wide Nationals (PSM) / Charlotte, N.C.
April 29-May 1	NHRA SpringNationals / Houston
May 13-15	Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals (PSM) / Atlanta
June 3-5	NHRA New England Nationals / Epping, N.H.
June 9-12	Toyota NHRA Summernationals (PSM) / Englishtown, N.J.
June 17-19	NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals / Bristol, Tenn.
June 23-26	Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals (PSM) / Norwalk, Ohio
July 7-10	Route 66 NHRA Nationals (PSM) /Chicago
July 22-24	Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals (PSM) / Denver
July 29-31	NHRA Sonoma Nationals (PSM) / Sonoma, Calif.
Aug. 5-7	NHRA Northwest Nationals / Seattle
Aug. 18-21	Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals (PSM) / Brainerd, Minn.
Aug. 31-Sept. 5	Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals (PSM) / Indianapolis

NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship
Sept. 16-18	NHRA Carolina Nationals (PSM) / Charlotte, N.C.
Sept. 23-25	AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals (PSM) / St. Louis
Sept. 29-Oct. 2	NHRA Keystone Nationals (PSM) / Reading, Pa.
Oct. 13-16	AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals (PSM) / Dallas
Oct. 27-30	NHRA Toyota Nationals (PSM) / Las Vegas
Nov. 10-13	Auto Club NHRA Finals (PSM) / Pomona, Calif.
(PSM) - Event will include Pro Stock Motorcycle

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.”