Cindric ready to learn on the fly for Supercars debut in Adelaide

Austin Cindric will turn months’ worth of work into action as he takes to the track in Adelaide this weekend for a cameo appearance in the Supercars finale. 

“I feel comfortable in the car (with) sitting position and different things,” said Cindric (main image, with Mark Winterbottom). “But all in all, as I’ve said throughout the process, learning the track is going to be my biggest challenge here. It’s a difficult track and a track that all the guys that I’ll be competing against have a ton of laps around and really understand. I’ll learn more on my track walk and my first practice than I think I will in any of the prep work that I’ve done. 

“So, I’m looking forward to getting out there. I think it’s great we have a night to sleep on it after first practice on Thursday, but then also three races to really get through all the reps.”

Cindric made the trip to Australia not long after the NASCAR season ended earlier this month. Ahead of his drive in the No. 5 for Tickford Racing Mustang, Cindric has been adjusting to the time zone difference, observing, and then making his first laps behind the wheel of the Gen3 Mustang last week.

The seat time came at Sandown and The Bend Motorsports Park.

The 27-year-old from Team Penske in the NASCAR Cup Series is in a wildcard entry for the event. It is Cindric’s debut in the series, of which he’s acknowledged being a fan of for quite some time.

“I’d definitely say I’ve never learned the limits of the car,” Cindric said. “I’d say consistently finding them without error is always the challenge.”

The goal for Cindric through the weekend is to run all the laps. And there will be plenty of laps to run.

Cindric will not only have practice and qualifying on the two-mile course ahead of the Adelaide Grand Finale, but there are three races that make up the event – an event that is crowning its series champion, which Cindric is well aware of.

“I’m certainly not going to insert myself in the way of it, that’s for sure,” Cindric said. “If I’m even close to some of those guys, I think that’d be pretty special. But otherwise, personally, I’d love to see a Ford win. They’ve got a 50/50 shot. But it’s been a fun championship to watch, and the last thing I want to do is make an impact on that, whether it’s directly or indirectly. I’m here just as much as a race fan and someone who loves the series, so I’d hate to have an impact on that.

“But at the same time, I’m here to race, too, and that’s what the format is. If this were the NASCAR playoffs, I know how that typically works, and typically, the guys who aren’t in the playoffs don’t really care that you’re in the playoffs. So, as someone competing in the series, I would expect all the other drivers to feel the same way.”

Cindric is the first American to compete in a Supercars event since 2019, when Alexander Rossi ran the Bathurst 1000.