CTSC: Q&A with Austin Cindric, Multimatic Ford Mustang

High school student Austin Cindric found himself a new weekend job this year, co-driving the No. 158 Multimatic Motorsports/Miller Racing Ford Mustang Boss 302R with Jade Buford.

The 16-year-old sophomore at Cannon School in Mooresville, N.C., has already built an impressive and varied resume, racing Legends and Bandolero Cars on short tracks; USF2000 open-wheel cars on road courses for Andretti Autosport, where he was the first 14-year-old to compete in the series, earning three top-10 finishes; the youngest driver to compete in Historic SportsCar Racing, winning a race in a Porsche 944; and Red Bull Global RallyCross, earning three podiums in seven races.

The son of Penske Racing President Tim Cindric, Austin made his Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge debut last October, finishing seventh with David Levine for Racers Edge Motorsports at Road Atlanta. He opened the season with an 11th-place finish at Daytona, and placed eighth in the most recent race at Sebring.

How did you start racing?

“I started off racing semi-professional in Legends Cars and Bandoleros on short tracks in North Carolina. Then I made the jump. I did a Skip Barber School and started getting road course experience, doing USF2000. In between, I did a few vintage races. Then I did some Global RallyCross, and now I’m doing a full season of Continental Tire.”

How is the transition, going from open-wheel and RallyCross to racing a Ford Mustang in the Continental Tire Challenge?

“It’s definitely a big change, going from a racing car to a production car. I really like driving the Mustang. They’re fun and they’re fast in a straight line. The car moves around a lot and you can use all of the track and a lot of the curbs. It’s a fun car to throw around.”

How do you like racing with Multimatic Motorsports and co-driving with Jade Buford?      

“It’s great to be able to work with Multimatic in my first season in Continental Tire – it’s a great step in my career. They’re a technologically advanced company and I’m very happy to be there. Jade has a lot of experience in the series and it’s really go to have him as a co-driver and someone to lean on. Even Scott Maxwell and Billy Johnson in the sister [No. 15] car, I have a lot of good guys to work with on the team.”

Have you been to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca before, the next race on the Continental Tire Challenge schedule?

“That’s one of my favorite tracks. I did a couple Skip Barber races there, and won both of them, and did some F2000 races and ended up doing pretty well there as well. I wouldn’t expect anything less with the Continental Tire Challenge.”

Any other tracks on the schedule that you are particularly looking forward to this season?

“I haven’t been to a lot of the tracks on the schedule, so I’m looking forward to new experiences at tracks like Watkins Glen, Lime Rock, Circuit of The Americas, VIR. I’m also looking forward to Road Atlanta.”

What does your father have to say about you racing in IMSA?
“From a father’s standpoint, I think he’d rather have his son in a car with a roof on it – I’m sure he’s happy about that. He’s standing behind me. Obviously, he knows a lot about racing, and he believes this is a big step in my career.”

You got a bronze medal in the X Games at Circuit of The Americas. What’s it like racing Global RallyCross?

“It’s pretty fun. It’s exciting to watch, sliding through dirt, going two-wide over jumps and knocking each other around. It’s a lot of fun.”