Mazak Partners with Austin Cindric at Texas

Team Penske announced today that Mazak Corporation will be featured as the primary sponsor on the No. 12 Ford Mustang driven by Austin Cindric for the NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) race at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday, April 7. The Texas race sponsorship builds on an extremely productive and integrated partnership between Mazak and Team Penske that began more than 25 years ago.

“Team Penske is excited to extend our partnership with Mazak,” said Roger Penske. “As one of the original Penske Racing sponsors, Mazak is a trusted partner that has helped grow our business. As the Team Penske organization has grown, so have Mazak’s applications, technical capabilities and involvement with our teams. From simple brackets to complex custom engine parts, the multi-tasking capability and advanced technology provided by Mazak’s production equipment has played a vital role in the success of Team Penske’s NASCAR, INDYCAR and IMSA Sports Car teams. We look forward to helping grow the Mazak brand through the new partnership with Austin Cindric and the No. 12 Ford Mustang team.”

For more than two decades, Team Penske has benefitted from its in-house equipment manufacturing process that’s bolstered by equipment supplied by Mazak. Inside Team Penske’s state-of-the-art facility located on 105 acres in Mooresville, North Carolina, the organization’s NASCAR, INDYCAR and IMSA Sports Car programs manufacture everything from chassis to key suspension parts, aided by Mazak’s cutting-edge technology.

“All of us at Mazak are proud to be a part of the most storied racing tradition in history,” said Mazak Chairman Brian Papke. “Mazak and Team Penske share an unwavering commitment to innovation and continuous improvement that drives everything we do.”

At just 19 years old, Cindric is one of NASCAR’s promising young drivers, and he is already considered a Rookie of the Year candidate in the XFINITY Series. Cindric will race for both Team Penske and Roush-Fenway Racing in 2018 NXS competition, following a breakout season in 2017 with Brad Keselowski Racing (BKR) in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS). Last season, Cindric captured his first NCWTS career victory with BKR at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and he finished third in the series Playoffs. 

“Mazak has been such a loyal partner to Team Penske and they play a big role for us back in the shop,” said Cindric. “I am really grateful and excited to represent them at a track where I enjoyed some success last season in the Truck Series, and I hope to follow up their support with more of the same.” 

Cindric made his NXS debut last season, driving the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang at Road America for Team Penske. Cindric ran inside the top 10 for much of the race and was in line to compete for the win when his car suffered a cut a tire late in the race and he had to make an unscheduled green-flag pit stop. He wound up finishing in 16th place.

Already in 2018, Cindric has had a busy season as he has raced three different types of cars in three series including two Rallycross Ice races in Sweden, where he captured a heat win. Cindric also earned a sixth-place overall finish in the IMSA Rolex 24 at Daytona driving for JDC-Miller Motorsports before he produced his first top-10 NXS finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway with Team Penske and the No.12 Ford Team.

The 2018 XFINITY Series season continues next weekend with the My Bariatric Solutions 300 at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday April, 7 starting at3:00 p.m. ET on FOX.  

About Mazak

Mazak Corporation is a leader in the design and manufacture of productive machine tool solutions. Committed to being a partner to customers with innovative technology, its world-class facility in Florence, Kentucky, produces over 100 models of turning centers, Multi-Tasking machines and vertical machining centers, including 5-axis models. Continuously investing in manufacturing technology allows the Kentucky iSMART Factory to be the most advanced and efficient in the industry, providing high-quality and reliable products through its “Production-On-Demand” practice. Mazak maintains eight Technology Centers across North America to provide local hands-on applications, service and sales support to customers.

About Team Penske

Team Penske is one of the most successful teams in the history of professional sports. Cars owned and prepared by Team Penske have produced more than 470 major race wins, over 540 pole positions and 32 Championships across open-wheel, stock car and sports car racing competition. Over the course of its 52-year history, the team has also earned 16 Indianapolis 500 victories, two Daytona 500 Championships, a Formula 1 win and overall victories in the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. For 2018, Team Penske will compete in the Verizon IndyCar Series, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR XFINITY Series and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The team also races in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship, in a partnership with Dick Johnson Racing, as DJR Team Penske.