Penske’s Austin Cindric makes his honest feelings known after coming home “smelling like champagne” amid his Rolex 24 stint

Roger Penske’s Team Penske driver Austin Cindric had a memorable outing in the recently concluded Rolex 24 at Daytona on Sunday (January 26). He secured a podium finish in the GTD Pro class and 19th overall in the standings. Following the race, he expressed his feelings on his impressive Rolex 24 endurance racing stint on social media.

Austin Cindric came as a replacement for Ben Barker, who broke his collarbone in a skiing incident, and teamed up with Mike Rockenfeller and Sebastian Priaulx to drive the #64 Ford Mustang GT3 for Ford Multimatic Motorsports along with his teammates in the 2025 Rolex 24.

In a post on X, Cindric said that he’s smelling like champagne after coming home from the racetrack and proud of his performance. He's excited to start his long racing season with the 24 Hours at Daytona race before the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series season.

“Any day you come home from the race track smelling like champagne is a good one. Podium @Rolex24Hours for us on car #64! Awesome to be there for such a big day for Ford Mustang, and watch some top-shelf driving by my teammates to close the race. Great way to start the year!” Cindric wrote.

His boss Roger Penske secured a second consecutive Rolex 24 at Daytona victory with Felipe Nasr, who outdueled his teammate Matt Campbell in the final 22 minutes.

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“Cool to be part of it” – Austin Cindric on his podium finish result in the Rolex 24

The #2 Team Penske Ford Mustang driver was the fourth fastest in the GTD Pro class. Despite having less time to practice in the car, he has put in a solid result in Ford Multimatic Motorsports’ #64 entry.

Speaking to Frontstretch after the race, Austin Cindric expressed his feelings on securing a podium finish in the IMSA SportsCar endurance race.

“Yeah, it was obviously an amazing result for Ford. Cool to be part of it. Keep the car clean and end up with some hardware so good way to start the year.” Cindric said.

The 26-year-old Columbus, Ohio, native later stated that he's satisfied with the result but admitted that third place wasn't maximum.

“I’m definitely satisfied. I feel like, honestly, for our car, you know, maybe even third wasn’t quite the maximum, so the sister car did an awesome job and drove phenomenally in the race,” the 2022 Daytona 500 winner said.

Catch Austin Cindric in action when the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season kicks off at Daytona International Speedway for the prestigious Daytona 500 on February 16. He will look to win another “The Great American Race” in the #2 Ford.