Kimi Raikkonen to race in COTA NASCAR Cup race with Trackhouse Racing
Kimi Räikkönen marked his NASCAR Cup series debut in 2022 with the Trackhouse Racing No:91 team.
Kimi Raikkonen
Former Formula 1 world champion Kimi Raikkonen will race in the 2023 COTA Cup race for Trackhosue Racing. The Finnish driver drove for Justin Marks’s team last season at Watkins Glen last year as part of Project 91 and will do the same this season. Trackhosue’s Ross Chastain is the defending race winner at COTA, and it was the team’s first win.
COTA also has special meaning to Kimi Raikkonen, as the Texas track marked the final F1 win of his career. He won the event in 2018 with Ferrari and has finished on the podium twice from eight starts. Raikkonen’s cup debut in 2022 with the No:91 team’s only race of the 22 seasons was solid until he crushed out, earning his just a P37 finish.
While discussing his return, the 2007 F1 champion pointed out that he had a very short time frame to learn before Glen, and the competition was challenging. He is relieved that he gets to race the second time in track, which he is familiar with, and has victory lane experience.
“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,” Raikkonen said.
The Finn also believes his involvement in NASCAR will attract more European drivers to the sport. He said, “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,”.
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Why is Justin Marks giving Kimi Raikkonen a second shot?
Project 91 is the brainchild of Justin Marks, who has established himself as one of the elite business minds of the sport within just a handful of years. Raikkonen was the driver in mind for Marks when he first thought of the idea, as he was both available and had the international following he hoped for. The impressive first outing has inspired Marks to give him one more opportunity.
“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,” Marks said.
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