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2007 F1 world champion Kimi Raikkonen, who retired from the sport at the end of last season, is returning to action this weekend. He will be making his NASCAR Cup Series debut at Watkins Glen International with the Trackhouse Racing Team’s PROJECT 91.
The Finland-born driver will be piloting the #91 Recogni/iLOQ Camaro ZL1 on Sunday, August 21, 2022, and become the first driver to join Trackhouse Racing’s PROJECT91 program.
Heading into Watkins Glen, Raikkonen revealed that initially, he was not looking seriously at making his Cup debut when Justin Marks approached him about their new venture. He went on to say that they later had more conversations about it, like how it would work, race location, and other different things.
Raikkonen said:
“At first I wasn’t really looking into this in a serious way. Obviously, we had more talks about how it would work, where the race would be and all sorts of things. It was just one race so it made sense for all of us as a family. I enjoyed it when I had my few races there (2011). Hopefully I’ll have a good race and good fun. There are new cars there and I have never been at the track and things like that, but I am sure we can figure it out quickly.”
Kimi Raikkonen has achieved huge success in the F1 series and his fans will be eagerly waiting to see him behind the wheels of the Next Gen car. In a two-decade-long career, the 42-year-old has secured one World Championship, 21 race wins, 103 podium finishes, and 1873 career points.
“It’s a new track for me and the cars are completely new”- Kimi Raikkonen
Kimi Raikkonen feels that the F1 and road course experience will not be an advantage for him on Sunday as it’s a new track and the Next Gen cars are completely different from F1 cars.
Upon being asked if he could foresee any advantage for himself, he said:
“I don’t think so. It’s a new track for me and the cars are completely new. F1 cars are completely different. Looking at how these new cars are in NASCAR it compares more to Australian V8s. We will go and see how it is. I’m sure we will do fine.”
Catch Raikkonen at Watkins Glen International on Sunday, August 21, 2022, at 3:00 pm ET. The coverage will be broadcast on USA Network and MRN.
