Austin Cindric is about to pull off a rare NASCAR-Supercars crossover as he heads to Adelaide in late November.
The Team Penske driver will join Tickford Racing for the bp Adelaide Grand Final, which crowns the Supercars champion. He will drive a Ford Mustang wild card entry while competing on the street circuit. He will fulfill a longtime dream in the process.
Cindric previously tested a DJR Team Penske Ford Falcon FG X in 2016, and he competed in the 2015 Bathurst 12 Hour with Erebus Motorsport.
"I've been a fan of the Supercars Championship since I was a kid. I've always rated the drivers and teams in the category highly," Cindric said, per Supercars.
"So needless to say, my interest has been high for an opportunity to test myself against the best, all while still getting to soak in the atmosphere of what I think should be a great weekend of racing at the Adelaide Grand Final.
"I'm grateful for the effort, hard work, and support from Ford Performance, Tickford Racing, Supercars, and the South Australian Motor Sport Board for bringing this project to life. I can't think of a better way to finish off a full year of racing than an adventure like this."
Multiple NASCAR drivers have set out with the goal of competing in a Supercars event after the Cup Series season ends. Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson both came close to accomplishing this crossover.
"It's really tough to run big races because I'm racing 54 weekends of the year pretty much," Larson said after Indy 500 practice in April. "I don't know, one that kind of stands out to me and hopefully we can kind of put it together down the road would be -- I'd like to run a Supercar, in particular in Adelaide.
"It's their finale. They have a sprint car track in the city, as well, so I could do both. I would like to do that. There's been some conversations. We'll see where it kind of goes."
While Busch and Larson have fallen short of a Supercars crossover, Cindric has put one together with the help of Ford Performance. Now, he will have the opportunity to compete on the streets of an international city while bridging the gap between fanbases.
"Securing a talent such as Austin has been a long time in the making and we are excited to watch him step into a Tickford Racing Ford Mustang in Adelaide," said Tickford Racing Managing Director Rod Nash. "His young career in the NASCAR Cup Series has been very strong and conquering the Daytona 500 is an unbelievable feat in his career to date.
"He will be challenged on the streets of Adelaide, but there is no better opportunity to allow this Wildcard entry to participate at the inaugural bp Adelaide Grand Final. With the support of Cam (Waters) and Thomas (Randle), plus the incredible team here at Tickford, we will provide Austin with all the tools to ensure his success on track come November."
The Adelaide Grand Final will take place on Nov. 27-30. This race weekend will feature a 100-km (62.1371 miles) race on Friday and a pair of 250-km (155.343 miles) races on Saturday and Sunday.
Four full-time Supercars drivers will enter the Adelaide Grand Final in contention for the championship after the series adopted a NASCAR-style elimination playoff format. One will end the weekend celebrating.
Those who live outside of Australia and New Zealand can watch the Supercars races on the SuperView streaming platform. This requires a subscription, which costs AU$9.99 ($6.54 USD) monthly or AU$99 ($64.80 USD) annually.