“He’s going to haul ass,” Justin Marks has “high expectations,” for Kimi Raikkonen’s cup debut at  Watkins Glen

“He’s going to haul ass,” Justin Marks has “high expectations,” for Kimi Raikkonen’s cup debut at  Watkins Glen

Justin Marks and Kimi Raikkonen

Trackhouse Racing in just two years of its cup series journey has already marked its place in NASCAR history more than just once and has been amongst the teams to beat throughout this season. The  Ross Chastain-Daniel Suarez duo has to lead the Justin Marks-Pitbull-owned team to three wins and multiple podia finish this season with their fast chevy impressing the rest of the grid.

But the Trackhouse Racing team gives more than just impressive race products to NASCAR as being one of the smartest business minds in NASCAR Justin Marks has been introducing multiple innovations to the sport in order to grow both their and NASCAR’s brand. Among these, their price possession might be PROJECT91.

PROJECT91 is the plan put forth by Trackhouse Racing which will facilitate a smooth NASCAR cup series entry of elite high-level athletes from other series of Motor Car racing by providing them with resources and the No:91 Camaro ZL1. The first athlete that will take part in the project is one of the most famous and talented Formulae 1 racers of his generation, the “iceman”, Kimi Raikkonen. The former F1 Champion with Ferrari will drive the No:91 car at the Watkins Glen Road Course cup race.

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Find out what Justin Marks had to say about Kimi Raikkonen’s cup race entry

Justin Marks
Justin Marks

Justin Marks acknowledged that they have put together a pretty extensive preparation protocol to make sure that Kimi Raikkonen is ready at the time when he shows up for the Watkins Glen cup practice run. He pointed out that Kimi Raikkonen has been very focused and impressive so far in these sessions.

“We’ve put together a preparation protocol for him that’s pretty extensive. I think he’s going to be able to show up at practice at Watkins Glen ready to go for it right when practicing starts, which is the goal… He’s very, very focused. It’s impressive, actually,” Justin Marks said.

Justin Marks went on to say that the easiest and simplest part of the whole cup debut for the Iceman will be the things he already is known for and impressed the team around him with it. He pointed out that he has been impressed with the rate of adaptation, aggression, and speed In the training sessions o far

“I think honestly, probably the easiest and simplest part of this whole thing is going to be his rate of adaptation, his aggression, and his speed in the race car because his level of preparation has been impressive to everybody here,” Justin Marks added.

The Trackhouse owner went on to say that he is optimistic and has high hopes for Kimi at the track as the speed and adapting to the sport haven’t been such a constrain to him. Talking about the ex-F1 drivers’ work attitude Justin Marks pointed out that the questions he had in his mind when he landed in the USA were about the penalties Ross Chastain endured last race, showing the amount of investment he has put in.

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“I’m optimistic [and] I have high expectations. I think that the speed and the race craft and adaptation to the track and the car are not going to be an issue at all. Just spending time with him in the shop, the way he was prepared when he first showed up here in America — not just 24 hours ago — he was asking questions about [Ross Chastain’s] pit penalty at Michigan,” says Justin Marks.

Justin Marks went on to say that Kimi Raikkonen had a lot of questions on short pitting stages and strategies on the track, which shows the preparation he has done for the debut. Justin Marks pointed out that he isn’t surprised by the work put in by the Ex-Ferrari driver as that is what it took him to be the champion at Formula 1.

“He had questions about short pitting stages and how to work strategy backward at the road courses. He has really done a lot of work and preparation, and that’s not surprising to me because that’s what it takes to be as successful as he’s been in Formula 1 for so long,” added Justin Marks.

Justin Marks went on to say that the main focus of the Trackhouse team is to make sure Kimi Raikkonen has enough knowledge about the sport and added that he has high expectations for him, saying  “We’re focusing a lot of our attention on making sure he’s educated. But the way he showed up ready to get fitted in the car, I have high expectations. I think he’s going to haul ass,”.

Will Kimi Raikkonen be able to secure a podium finish at Watkins Glen?

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