Kimi Raikkonen embracing challenge in NASCAR Cup debut

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Former world champion Kimi Raikkonen welcomes the challenge with his NASCAR Cup debut Sunday at Watkins Glen International, even though his limited time in the car makes the effort ripe to not meet fan expectations for a driver of his standing.

“I don’t see any risk,” said Raikkonen, who won 21 Formula One races in 19 seasons between 2001-21. “Why not? What do I have to lose? 

“That I’ve done bad in a NASCAR race or bad in any race? I don’t care. I do it for myself. Good or bad end result, that could happen even if I did 20 races. They all could be bad and for many different reasons. I don’t see any negative.”

Raikkonen, who qualified 27th in the 39-car field, admits he doesn’t know how he’ll do in Sunday’s race (3 p.m. ET on USA), but calls this “a nice challenge.

“Obviously, we are limited running on the car and also a little bit of short practice and then qualifying,” he said. “It’s quite a challenge, but it’s also exciting. We’ll see where we stack up.”

Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks isn’t sure what to expect, but he notes “the preparation is going to be there.” Raikkonen has been paired with an experienced road crew, led by crew chief Darian Grubb. The road crew, according to the team, has 284 years of combined professional racing experience. 

Another factor for Raikkonen is that the Trackhouse Racing cars have been fast on road courses. Ross Chastain won at Circuit of the Americas, and Daniel Suarez won at Sonoma. 

“If we do a good job for him as a team,” Marks said of Raikkonen, “I think that we can have a very good day.”

"Why not?"

Kimi Raikkonen explained why he wanted to run a @NASCAR race, and what @THProject91 could do for those abroad wanting to get a taste of the sport.