Kimi Raikkonen will join the Trackhouse Racing team for the race at Watkins Glen on August 21, behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 , alongside team regulars Daniel Suarez and Ross Chastain.
It will be the first time Raikkonen has taken part in a motorsport event since ending his 20-year Formula 1 career last December, following his last appearance for Alfa Romeo at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
It won’t be the 2007 F1 world champion’s first time in NASCAR. The Finn ran one Nationwide Series race – now known as the Xfinity Series – and one Truck Series race in 2011 with Kyle Busch Motorsports during his sabbatical from the top flight.
Raikkonen explained that he had not initially considered racing “in a very serious way” after leaving F1, but negotiations progressed with Trackhouse Racing and ended with an entry for Watkins Glen .
“We had a lot of conversations about it talking about how everything would work, where the race would be and all sorts of things,” said the Finn.
“There are a lot of things involved, and it all made sense to me. It’s a race, so it made sense to all of us as a family. I’ve always enjoyed my few races [in America].”
“I hope we have a good event and have fun. It’s obviously a new car and I’ve never been to that track, but I’m sure we can do well.”
Raikkonen ‘s arrival at Trackhouse Racing for this event exclusively comes as part of the team’s Project91 initiative, which seeks to expand NASCAR ‘s reach by dedicating its #91 car to top international drivers. With Chastain and Suarez, Trackhouse will field three drivers from three different countries for the Watkins Glen race.
“I have been a huge fan of Kimi for a long time, following his career since he started in Formula 1 with Sauber,” said Trackhouse owner Justin Marks.
“One of the best moments I had as a Formula 1 fan was being able to race Kimi in a race at Charlotte in 2011.
“I knew he was interested in NASCAR, and had tried it before, and I thought if I explained to him what this project was about, he’d be interested in being a part of it.”
The plan for Raikkonen will be to travel to the United States in plenty of time before the race to complete a test behind the wheel of the Chevrolet, as well as driving in the team’s simulator to adapt more quickly.
Marks visited Raikkonen at his home in Switzerland to discuss the deal and “correctly sold the deal” to him, according to the Finn.
Raikkonen explained that while there were opportunities to return to racing earlier this year, he needed time to prepare for his NASCAR Cup debut in New York.
“Obviously there were options to do something else this year, but I think it all came a little too fast to try to do well in every way,” said the Finn.
“I think it was better to wait until this race to be able to prepare everything and at least do the necessary work 100%. At least we will give ourselves the best possible opportunity.”
“What comes next? I don’t know, nobody knows. We’ll try to have a good race, enjoy it and see what the future holds. I have no other plans.”
“That’s what I know right now, and from there we’ll see,” Kimi concluded.
