The Rolex 24 at Daytona International is an annual endurance racing event that attracts the best racers across the world. It’s one thing to run 500 laps or so on an oval track in a NASCAR race and a different experience to compete in an endurance race event. Very few current NASCAR drivers understand what it is like to compete in an event like the Rolex 24, but Austin Cindric isn’t one of them.

Cindric is a late entry at Daytona for Ford to compete in the GTD Pro class. He wasn’t scheduled to step foot on the high banks of Daytona until another three weeks. But when Ben Barker broke his collarbone on a skiing trip, Ford called upon Team Penske for a replacement, and Cindric answered that call. Although he didn’t get much time to settle in and prepare for the event, the Penske star is confident about giving his best.

Austin Cindric explains why he agreed to compete at Rolex 24 at Daytona

The 2022 Daytona 500 champion knows what it is to pilot a GT3 car, as he’s previously competed in the Rolex 24 at Daytona five times. But he wasn’t aware that he would be roped in at the last moment to represent the Ford contingent on a short call. Driving the No. 64 Ford Mustang GT3 for Ford Multimatic Motorsports, Cindric will be teaming up with veterans like Seb Priaulx and Mike Rockenfeller.

Although he has a ton of experience competing in endurance races in the past, preparation for an event like the Rolex 24 at Daytona is anything but simple. While NASCAR drivers have featured in this event in the past, nowadays most of them decide to stay focused on their NASCAR prep. Sharing his thoughts on this trend, Austin Cindric explained, “There’s plenty that would want to do it, but the challenge of schedules, right? The reality is we can do one race with our schedule.”

Moreover, getting up to speed with the different nuances of piloting a GT3 car isn’t something that comes naturally to most drivers. “The experience level there’s a huge variety of drivers, you know, across the globe that have experience in these types of cars… So obviously, myself and Shane are different than most guys on the Cup field with having GT3 experience. I think the desire level too, it’s a sought-after event. There are only 61 entries, and there are teams that aren’t able to get into the race,” Cindric added while speaking to Bob Pockrass.

Chase Elliott and Austin Dillon were the latest drivers to compete at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2021. Meanwhile, Xfinity Series rookie Connor Zilisch was a part of the winning team last year. Cup drivers participating in endurance racing is becoming a rare sight, but Cindric wasn’t going to let this opportunity pass by. He said, “I think those who wanna do it really bad end up doing it, and I definitely have wanted to do battle these years. And I feel like that’s a key reason why you keep getting opportunities.” Although the Penske star hasn’t won the event in his past attempts, he might have a real shot with his team starting from the pole.

Cindric’s team is starting the 24 hour endurance race on pole

In 2023, Cindric competed in the LMP2 class and finished 6th in that race. But his best came when he was behind the wheel of a GT3 car in the GTD and GTD Pro class endurance Daytona events. His 2022 feature under the Mercedes banner resulted in a fifth-place finish, which is his joint-best finish from the 2019 attempt. Although Cindric has had to play catch, his team will be in a good spot as they have qualified for the main event on pole.

“I think it definitely has some strengths; it’s obvious from qualifying. For me, it’s a pretty easy car to get up to speed with. I felt like by lap three I was on the pace. For me, it was like riding a bike. It’s been two years since I’ve driven a proper GT3 car, but they’ve done a great job with the car,” Cindric added.

Well, Austin Cindric could be in a position to script history with this event, and he could add a second championship to his name riding at Daytona. The driver will also look to carry on the momentum from this event into the Cup Series as he will aim to get better in 2025.