Written by Hugh Waring, Edited by Ishani Aziz
Kimi Räikkönen is set to race again at the Circuit of the Americas in the NASCAR Cup series.
The Finn will race again for the Trackhouse Racing team under its PROJECT91 car on March 26th.
The Iceman is continuing the trajectory of his 2022 outing at Watkins Glen where he found himself in the Top 10 before retiring, following contact with Loris Hezemans. However, Räikkönen will be familiar with the track surroundings, most notably as COTA was his final Formula One win in 2018. The former F1 Champion ran up in eighth until his collision, following a late restart, ultimately injuring his wrist as he collided with the tire barrier.
Räikkönen made comment following his return announcement:
“I had a fantastic time in NASCAR. There was a lot to learn in a very short amount of time, but everyone was very helpful, the competition was a big challenge…
This time I get to race on a track I am familiar with so there won’t be as steep of a learning curve. I want to have fun, but also do as well as we can.”
The Finn also hopes that his efforts will get Europeans into the cup series:
“I’m sure there are a lot of drivers that would like to have a chance to try NASCAR. It’s not very easy, so maybe it will open some doors in the future for more chances to try and get more Europeans into the sport.”
Justin Marks, Trackhouse Racing owner was quoted saying:
“When we announced Kimi last year I said he was the global superstar I had in mind when we created PROJECT91..
I think you saw the fan reception across the world and Kimi’s performance in the car was proof of the concept. Kimi’s following is massive and it’s great for NASCAR, Trackhouse plus I think Kimi really enjoys our racing.”