Austin Cindric’s Driven Mindset: Racing Rolex 24 with Winning Intentions

The 2025 Rolex 24 at Daytona will be raced by Austin Cindric, the 2022 Daytona 500 champion. This year, 61 participants will compete in the race, which is set to run from Thursday, January 23, to Sunday, January 26, 2025. Cindric will drive the No. 64 Ford Mustang GT3 for Ford Multimatic Motorsports, joining Seb Priaulx and Mike Rockenfeller. This comes after Ben Barker fractured his collarbone in a skiing accident over the holidays, creating an unanticipated void. British racer Ben Barker is well-known for his endurance racing prowess, having placed third in his class at the 2023 Le Mans and won races like the Bathurst 12 Hour. He joined the Ford factory squad after working with GR Racing for eight years team for the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship season.

Austin Cindric stated in an interview with RacerWeek.com that he does not consider the Rolex 24 as an exhibition and that he is totally dedicated to supporting his team in any manner that he can. “I’m committed; it’s not an exhibition for me. I’m determined to go to any lengths. Since it’s their car, I’m willing to let [teammates] Rocky [Mike Rockenfeller] and Seb [Priaulx] do what they want,” the 26-year-old stated. On joining Ford Multimatic Motorsports, Austin Cindric Cindric stated that he would have a decent chance of winning one of the Rolex Daytona watches if he participated in the 24 Hours of Daytona this year. “For me and my career, the 24 Hours of Daytona has grown to be a very significant event,” said Cindric.

Multimatic Motorsports and Austin Cindric have been together from the beginning of his career. Alongside co-driver Jade Buford, he started racing with the team full-time in the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge (CTSCC) in 2015. He competed for the team for the first time over ten years ago in the Michelin Pilot Challenge at Daytona. In 2019, he and Andy Priaulx won at Road Atlanta. Cindric’s adaptability and performance history were hailed by Mark Rushbrook, worldwide director of Ford Performance Motorsports, who described him as a perfect fit for the squad.

Austin is one of our most varied drivers and a successful NASCAR and sports car driver with Mustang. Rushbrook remarked, “He’s a great fit to step in and work with Seb and Rocky at Daytona.” The head of racing at Multimatic Engineering, Pascal Zurlinden, also affirmed his faith in Cindric’s skills, saying: “It is a real shame for Ben and the team, but accidents happen.” We are thrilled to have Austin rejoin the team, and we know he will perform admirably, as he always does for us. Austin Cindric won the Daytona 500 in 2022 and is presently the driver of Team Penske’s No. 2 car in the NASCAR Cup Series. After missing the playoffs in the Round of 16, he finished 11th in the 2024 Cup Series season.