Rolex 24: Acura Team Penske debut falls short, but shows great promise going forward

By Jan 28, 2018, 4:15 PM EST
Photos courtesy IMSA
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You could consider Acura Team Penske’s debut in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona like a Silicon Valley startup.

Lots of promise, great talent, strong corporate leadership and plenty of financing – but admittedly a few bugs in its first full test.

Both teams were at or near the front of the pack at the halfway point of the 24-hour endurance race that kicked off the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Sunday at Daytona International Speedway.

But issues in the second half of the race knocked both the No. 6 and No. 7 Acura Team Penske Acura DPi’s, the latter finishing ninth out of a 20-car field and the No. 6 right behind in 10th.

The No. 6 had an alternator problem that required an extended period of time in the garage, while the No. 7 endured a crash with Helio Castroneves behind the wheel.

Damage was minimal, but the car spun and lost valuable time both on-track and also in the garage.

All-in-all, for a first time effort – both teams finished 15 laps down to the winning entry of the Action Express No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi – was not potentially lower than what both teams hoped for, but they certainly could have finished much worse, as well.

The No. 7 team was comprised of Ricky Taylor, Graham Rahal and Helio Castroneves, while the No. 6 roster was Simon Pagenaud, Dane Cameron and Juan Pablo Montoya.

Assessing how his teams ran with about an hour left in the race,, team owner Roger Penske told FS1, “I think the race has been amazing, fast cars, everybody’s been racing hard the whole day and night. We had an alternator go out on one of the cars and Helio got hit, but for us, if we can finish the 24 Hours and we know we have some speed in our cars, we’re looking forward to get to Sebring (next race on the IMSA schedule).

“But this is a great test for us, endurance, our pit crews and for Acura to have something as good as they’ve given us is terrific.”

As for the 42-year-old Castroneves, who was making his first start since shifting from a long career in IndyCar to IMSA – he qualified No. 2 on Friday – former IndyCar driver Paul Tracy said he believes his former teammate still has a lot of fuel left in his performance tank as a race car driver, even if it is in a new series.

“Obviously, those guys are in their 40s now, so it’s not going to go on forever in IndyCar,” Tracy told FS1. “The talent level now in the younger guys that are coming up like (Josef) Newgarden, those guys are the best of the best.

“No doubt that Castroneves still has as much speed as anyone out there, he was almost on the pole for this race.

“So, changing from one type of car to another and then immediately almost being on the pole the first race, he’ll continue to run in this until whenever he wants to stop driving. Until he tells Roger (Penske) one day, ‘Hey, I’m going to hang up my helmet,’ he’s got a ride.”

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.”