DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Less than a month ago, Austin Cindric didn’t even have a ride for the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Sure, he wanted to get one and he had been putting feelers out there, but there was nothing available. He was more or less resigned to watching on TV.
Then Ben Barker, the endurance driver for Ford Multimatic Motorsports’ No. 64, went on a ski holiday at Christmas and had an accident. A broken collarbone meant he was going to be laid up and unable to compete at Daytona.
Enter Cindric.
On Jan. 6, Cindric was announced as Barker’s replacement for the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the accompanying ROAR Before the 24. That left him with a grand total of 10 days to prepare himself to drive the Ford Mustang GT3 for the first time.
“It’s tough to do all the preparation for a race, then not be able to do it,” Cindric told Frontstretch at IMSA Media Day on Jan. 16. “I’m grateful for the call and to be thought of for a program that’s this involved.”
That preparation included some simulator time, but also legitimate homework. GT3 cars have manuals that you have to study. Cindric had to spend some of his time going through the manual and memorizing aspects of it just in case something were to happen.
At the time of Media Day, Cindric believed this ride was likely the best Rolex 24 effort he was going to get as a full-time driver in the NASCAR Cup Series. Factory rides rarely come along.
He stated that since 2025 is the beginning of the second year of the Mustang GT3 program, their development leaving them able to compete with the best of the competition in class for wins. A number of the people with the team had worked with him previously as far back as his days in what is now IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge as a 17-year-old.
Compared to 2024, Ford Multimatic Motorsports was immediately fast in Daytona. Cindric himself was fourth fastest in class in only the second session of the ROAR despite never driving the car prior to Jan. 17. That said, the pace wasn’t extraordinary.
That changed by the race weekend itself, where Ford Multimatic Motorsports made themselves the team to beat. Cindric’s teammate Mike Rockenfeller won the GTD Pro pole for his first IMSA pole since 2006. Frederic Vervisch in the No. 65 Mustang was second.
Once the race came along, Ford Multimatic Motorsports showed they were the best team early on. In the first hour, Vervisch took the early lead after Rockenfeller was forced to dodge the spun LMP2 car of Nick Boulle.
The two Mustangs were in the mix for the entire race. However, while Dennis Olsen was able to propel the No. 65 to the class victory, the first in IMSA for the Ford Mustang GT3, the No. 64 team had to settle for third, 5.766 seconds back.
As a result, Cindric was happy with his performance, but a little disappointed at the same time.
“It’s an amazing result for Ford [and it’s] cool to be part of it,” Cindric told Frontstretch after the race. “I’m definitely satisfied with the result, but for this car, I feel like third wasn’t quite the maximum.”
Cindric will likely have to wait a while before he gets another chance to race the Mustang GT3. However, this quick study during the week and a half that he was with the team should lead to plenty more Rolex 24 opportunities than he expected to come his way in 2026.
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Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the site's FREE e-mail newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the site's Sports Car racing editor.
Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press officer for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. He covers all the action on the high-banked dirt track from regular DIRTcar Modified racing to occasional visits from touring series such as the Super DIRTcar Series.