Red Bull GRC releases shaken up 2017 schedule

By Feb 2, 2017, 9:01 AM EST
Speed leads. Photo: Chris Tedesco/Red Bull Content Pool
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Red Bull Global Rallycross has released its 2017 schedule, which features a number of changes compared to the 2016 schedule.

Nearly half the schedule is shaken up for the championship, and only three races return from 2016 into 2017: Atlantic City, Seattle and Los Angeles. Their dates are within the same months of August, September and October as they were in 2016, but not necessarily on the same weekend.

Those three weekends comprise Rounds 8 to 12, with Atlantic City and Seattle featuring doubleheaders and Los Angeles with a single-round finale.

It’s Rounds 1 through 7 where things get switched up compared to 2016, although the series resumes in markets it’s been in before (Tennessee, New England).

Phoenix, Dallas, Daytona and MCAS New River are all gone for 2017. In their place come races in Memphis, Louisville, Thompson, Conn. a TBD-site in Canada and Indianapolis, from April through July. Thompson and Canada will be doubleheader weekends with the others all single-round weekends.

“This should be a banner year for Red Bull GRC as we continue our ascent in the world of motorsport,” Red Bull GRC CEO, Colin Dyne said in a release. “We listened to the feedback from our fans, and the 2017 schedule reflects the demand to bring our unique brand of racing to new locations, as well as to return to a number of fan-favorite venues from previous seasons.”

For those teams that have both IndyCar and Red Bull GRC programs, there are four weekends where they overlap. IndyCar is at Phoenix when Red Bull GRC is at Memphis, and subsequent overlaps occur at Indianapolis qualifying/Louisville, Detroit/Thompson, and Iowa/Indianapolis.

The Phoenix and Iowa IndyCar weekends will also see both IndyCar and Red Bull GRC on the NBC Sports Group networks on the same weekend.

Full TV details should come shortly for Supercars and GRC Lites shows.

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The 2017 Red Bull Global Rallycross event schedule is as follows:

  • Round 1: Memphis, TN (April 29)
  • Round 2: Louisville, KY (May 21)
  • Round 3: Thompson, CT (June 3)*
  • Round 4: Thompson, CT (June 4)*
  • Round 5: Canada (June 17)*
  • Round 6: Canada (June 18)*
  • Round 7: Indianapolis, IN (July 9)
  • Round 8: Atlantic City, NJ (August 12)*
  • Round 9: Atlantic City, NJ (August 13)*
  • Round 10: Seattle, WA (September 9)*
  • Round 11: Seattle, WA (September 10)*
  • Round 12: Los Angeles, CA (October 14)

*Indicates doubleheader

Specific event details, including venues, ticket sale information and broadcast times, will be released in the coming weeks.

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.”