Ford Call-Up the ‘Best Chance’ Cindric’s Had to Win Rolex 24

Photo: Wes Duenkel/Ford

Austin Cindric believes his late call-up to join Ford Multimatic Motorsports’ Rolex 24 at Daytona lineup will be “one of the best opportunities” he’s had to win the iconic endurance classic as the NASCAR Cup Series star sets his sights on a GTD Pro class victory.

Cindric received the call to join Seb Priaulx and Mike Rockenfeller in the No. 64 Multimatic Ford Mustang GT3 after Michelin Endurance Cup driver Ben Barker suffered a broken clavicle while skiing over the holidays, ruling him out of contention for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season-opener.

“I’m very, very grateful to have the opportunity and the call-up,” Cindric told Sportscar365. “I’ve done the race five times. This will be the sixth, but learning a new car and being enveloped in such a significant program, it’s got to be one of the best opportunities I’ve had here to come and win in such a top team.

“The last four times I’ve done this race, I’ve either finished fifth or sixth, so I’m tired of that. I’d like to go bring home a watch and I know everybody else here would as well.”

Cindric most recently competed at the Rolex 24 in 2023 in Rick Ware Racing’s LMP2 class Oreca 07 Gibson, with his last GT3-based start coming in 2022 aboard a Proton Competition Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo.

A class win this weekend would make Cindric just the fifth driver in history to win both the Daytona 500 and the Rolex 24, joining Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt, Jeff Gordon and Jamie McMurray.

“For me, a podium would be cool, but nothing where I come from and what I do day-to-day, the only thing that matters is a win,” said Cindric.

“I love this race and it’s honestly the top of my list of races that I haven’t won that I want to win and know I have the skill set to do so, but it’s about finding that right opportunity.”

According to Cindric, the call to fill in for the injured Barker came on New Year’s Day, allowing the Ford Performance Cup Series driver two weeks to prepare for the Rolex 24 in the simulator, with testing sessions at last week’s Roar Before the 24 serving as his first official laps in the Mustang GT3.

“I think it was good for both me as well as Ford to be able to get a pre-event in,” he said. “It was quite immersive being in the car for the first time, and honestly really being able to trust some of that prep work I did early on.

“It’s been pretty seamless and kind of like riding a bike being back at the event with the rules and all that. You always question it when it’s been a year or so, but nothing’s changed too much.”

Alongside his five previous Rolex 24 appearances, Cindric has four IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge starts in Mustang GT4 machinery at Daytona and has experience sharing a car with Priaulx, with the pair recording a race win at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in 2019.

“I’ve worked with a lot of the people here, whether it’s in Multimatic, I’ve had that relationship for quite some time, or in other programs, and it’s a great group, and it’s great to see a lot of familiar faces as we try and go win the biggest race of the year,” he said.

“It’s a difficult race and with a lot of challenges, but I feel the most prepared and the most at ease, even going into the weekend without even driving the car, [with] the co-drivers I have with Rocky and Seb and the team behind me with Multimatic and Ford.

“It’s been fun, and we’ve had no issues up to this point. I’ve just been kind of going through our program and, I feel very comfortable in the car and very, very confident that me being here definitely will still continue to be the asset for the team and hopefully represent everyone well.”