***The 2022 Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric outlasted Robert Noaker to claim victory in the inaugural Ford Proud To Honor: Veterans Day Classic at Daytona International Speedway. Cindric and Noaker battled for the lead throughout the 30-minute contest, trading positions multiple times before Cindric made the decisive pass with less than five minutes remaining. ***Cindric’s victory marked his first race win on the Daytona road course since 2020, when he won the then-Xfinity Series UNOH 188. The Team Penske NASCAR Cup Series driver added another Daytona victory to his resume, this time behind the wheel of the No. 2 Air Force Ford Mustang Dark Horse R. ***Cindric told Sportscar365: “Robert did a hell of a job. Obviously, he’s been in the series and in these cars, but I’m sure it’s not the easiest environment, right? I had a ton of fun. Obviously, winning is fun, but it was a good battle and a lot of fun. It was also great to be part of this event, honor our veterans and see what our veterans and service members really mean to Ford Racing.” ***Noaker finished second after mounting a challenge for the lead throughout the race. The result marked the first time the two-time Mustang Challenge North America champion has not won a race in the Ford Mustang Dark Horse R since 2024, following a dominant 2025 campaign in which he swept the season. ***Noaker said he wasn’t surprised by Cindric’s pace in his first race behind the wheel of the Dark Horse R, pointing to the NASCAR driver’s previous experience at Daytona and success in sports car and road course competition. ***He said: “He’s done the 24 Hours of Daytona before, raced here in GT4 cars and obviously had a lot of success on road courses. So no, I didn’t doubt his ability at all. I’m just impressed by how quickly he picked it up. With only four laps of practice before qualifying, it was super fun to see how close the field was going to be and know that tonight’s race was going to be a close one.” ***Logan Sargeant said he wasn’t particularly fond of the H-pattern shifting style featured in the Dark Horse R during his first experience behind the wheel, noting that it was a different driving experience compared to the modern race cars he has driven throughout his career. ***Sargeant said: “It was fun to race against a bunch of guys who I would never ever race against. But, I’m certainly glad the Hypercar has paddles. I didn’t enjoy the H-pattern too much, but I mean it was still fun and obviously for a good cause. Excited to get back to Hypercar testing, get ready for next year.” ***The event marked the first race appearance of the Dark Horse R at Daytona International Speedway, ahead of the car’s official competition debut in the IMSA-sanctioned Mustang Challenge North America in January. ***The race brought together teams from Mustang Challenge North America and Mustang Cup USA, with several established competitors taking responsibility for preparing and operating the military branch-themed entries. Recent Dark Horse class champions Round 3 Racing oversaw both Army entries, Capaldi Racing fielded the Marines and Navy cars, Robert Noaker Racing handled the Air Force and Space Force entries, and TPC Racing managed the Coast Guard car. ***Round 3 Racing will remain at Daytona for this weekend’s HSR Classic 24, where father-son duo and team owners, Buz and Brad McCall, will share their No. 997 2007 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup/3.6. ***Additionally, TPC Racing owner Michael Levitas will also return to the cockpit, driving the No. 36 Type 996 Porsche 911 in recognition of the 20th anniversary of the team’s GT class victory in the 2006 Rolex 24 at Daytona. Levitas shared that effort with Spencer Pumpelly, Randy Pobst and Ian Baas, finishing ninth overall. ***Frankie Muniz was admitted to a local medical facility following an incident during practice aboard his No. 30 Air Force Ford Mustang Dark Horse R. The car became lodged beneath a tire barrier in the infield section of the Daytona road course. Muniz was subsequently released from the facility and replaced by Ford Racing Junior Team driver Jenson Altzman for the race. ***Muniz said in a statement: “I am disappointed I won’t be able to take part in Ford’s Proud to Honor event tonight. I was looking forward to honoring the service of our veterans and racing against these other amazing drivers. I am a little sore, but my Mustang did its job in protecting me. I want to thank everyone at Ford Racing, Daytona International Speedway and the staff here at the hospital. I especially want to thank everyone who has reached out and for all the prayers.” ***Joey Hand described his first experience behind the wheel of the Dark Horse R as delivering a “throwback feel” as the two-time Rolex 24 winner has driven a wide range of machinery throughout his career, including the Ford GT and current Mustang GT3, but had not previously gotten behind the wheel of the Dark Horse R. ***He told Sportscar365: “You’ve got to get back to a few different things. All our stuff nowadays has ABS. This has ABS, but we have paddle shift and auto-blipping downshifts, and flat-shifting upshifts and all this stuff. This doesn’t. It’s an H-pattern. So, you’re back to doing those cross-gate shifts, fourth to fifth, all that, and using the clutch. To me, it was a little bit of a throwback to GT cars 12 years ago or something, with no downforce and sliding around a little more. So, it’s more of a throwback feel, I would say, to me.” ***Hand also assisted Ford with the debut of its new NASCAR Cup Series car, the Ford Mustang Dark Horse SC, earlier Wednesday at the speedway. The new model is a track-focused version of the road-going version of the Dark Horse SC and represents Ford’s next evolution of its NASCAR competition machinery. ***Joey Logano said he would be open to taking up an offer to run the Rolex 24 if the opportunity presented itself. “I don’t think I’d say no if the opportunity came up,” he told Sportscar365 ***Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Farley also took part in Wednesday’s activities, driving the Ford Mustang Dark Horse SC pace car during the warmup laps ahead of the evening’s race. ***Ford Racing personnel have indicated that they hope to establish the Proud To Honor: Veterans Day Classic as an annual event, building on the manufacturer’s previous Veterans Day activities and its desire to bring together members of the military community and motorsports. ***Ford Stakeholder Advocacy communications director Caroline Morales said in a media briefing: “We were so inspired by the event we hosted with TikTok last year around Veterans Day that we thought we should have a moment every year around Veterans Day to bring people together. This race is the next iteration of that experience, and we are hopeful that it will become an annual event. We’re working with NASCAR on how it can come to life in future years. Obviously, there are a lot of factors involved in that, but we’re all very enthusiastic about seeing this happen.”
Liked by Jackson Turner, Lily Morgan
Liked by Jackson Turner, Lily Morgan
Liked by Jackson Turner, Lily Morgan
