Getty Four NASCAR drivers will take on the IMSA Pilot Challenge.
Four up-and-coming NASCAR drivers are joining forces for a different style of race. Hailie Deegan, Austin Cindric, Harrison Burton, and Chase Briscoe will team up for the BMW M Endurance Challenge that kicks off the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season.
According to a press release from IMSA, Cindric and Burton will share the No. 41 PF Racing Mustang during the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race. Briscoe and Deegan will share the No. 42 PF Racing Mustang during the January 28 race. One day later, Cindric will climb into the No. 15 Proton USA Mercedes-AMG GT3 so he can compete in the GTD PRO class at the 60th Rolex 24 At Daytona.
This trip to Daytona International Speedway will serve as a reunion for two of the drivers. Deegan and Briscoe previously shared a Ford Mustang for the 2020 Daytona race. This trip to Daytona was Deegan’s first time on a road course, but she has since competed in many others while gaining experience in a variety of vehicles.
Gaining Experience at Different Tracks
The purpose of this trip to Daytona International Speedway is to gain experience. The drivers all want to make strides at the various road courses on their respective schedules. The Cup Series trio — Cindric, Burton, and Briscoe — will have six road course races on the 2022 schedule. Deegan will take on three road courses during the Camping World Truck Series season.
The first road course on the Cup Series schedule takes place at Circuit of the Americas on March 27. The drivers will then take on Sonoma Raceway (June 12), Road America (July 3), Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course (July 31), Watkins Glen International (August 21), and the Charlotte Roval (October 9).
Deegan has previous experience at Circuit of the Americas after finishing 14th in the first-ever Truck Series race at the Texas track. The races at Mid-Ohio and Sonoma will both be newer additions to the Truck Series schedule.
“That’s one thing that I’ve really buckled down and said for this 2022 year, that I just need to get as much seat time as I can, whether it’s in dirt, circle track stuff, whatever I can drive,” Deegan said in a statement. “I just want to get in and get more experience and I feel like one thing I could improve on – I can improve on a lot of things – but I feel like one thing that really is coming up more in the NASCAR world is road course races. I feel like being able to race any type of road course is, I think, just going to better me as a driver.”
Cindric Has Extensive Experience in IMSA
The Team Penske rookie is no stranger to this different style of competition. He has competed in several IMSA events while rising up through the racing ranks, which has aided him during his NASCAR career.
Cindric has competed in six WeatherTech Championship races and 16 of the Michelin Pilot Challenge races, dating back to 2014, and has won two times. His most recent trip to the podium took place in 2019 at Road Atlanta while driving the Multimatic Motorsports’ No. 15 Ford Mustang GT4 with teammate Seb Priaulx.
Along with his starts in IMSA events, Cindric also has numerous races on his resume spanning several different series. This list includes the Pirelli World Challenge Series, Red Bull Global Rallycross, and the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. In 2015, Cindric won four of the Global RallyCross Lites division races and finished second in the championship standings.
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