Räikkönen ventures into NASCAR

Indeed, according to the Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat, the 2007 world champion, who has since transitioned to WRC with his own team for eight rallies, is also expected to participate in a few NASCAR Trucks series races this summer. This information was confirmed by Steve Robertson, the manager of the former Ferrari and McLaren driver, although no dates have been officially announced yet.

“I’m really going there to familiarize myself with the world of NASCAR,” says the Finn. “I’ve been following [NASCAR] for a long time. […] I love the spirit of North American racing. It’s a great feeling to be involved in it. Obviously, it will be a challenge and a lot of fun for me.”

Iceman’s objective is clear: to learn in the Truck Series – where he will drive a race pickup – before, potentially, moving up to Nationwide, the second division of NASCAR, and then to the Sprint Cup, the main division, where he could reunite with his former McLaren teammate, Juan Pablo Montoya.

« Well, people talk a lot, and I have heard this story before, but if he really comes, it will be good for him and for the sport » confides the Colombian to Autosport, before adding: « He will be welcome here. »

The former Williams Formula One driver knows what he’s talking about. After a first season of mixed collaboration with McLaren in 2005, their relations had clearly deteriorated in 2006, as the British team had announced the arrival of Fernando Alonso for the following season and their intention to keep Kimi Räikkönen in their ranks.

A few days after a disastrous United States Grand Prix, the Colombian surprised everyone by announcing his commitment to NASCAR, thus responding to the advances of Chip Ganassi, his former boss in CART, who also owns a NASCAR team. Since then, he has missed no races in the Sprint Cup Series, winning twice on road circuits but, more importantly, showing impressive progress: best rookie in 2007, he was in the title race – NASCAR having adopted a playoff system – in 2009 before having to settle for 8th place in the final standings.

Since then, several drivers have tried to follow in Monty’s footsteps, starting with Jacques Villeneuve, who, like the Colombian driver, moved from Formula One to NASCAR after having already crossed the Atlantic once by moving from the CART championship, then in its twilight, to Formula One. Unfortunately, the Canadian did not enjoy the same success as the South American, mainly due to a lack of sponsors.

These two drivers illustrate the change in NASCAR’s status, as, although they came from North American open-wheel racing, they chose NASCAR over it when they returned to the United States.

Indeed, if during the 1980s and 1990s it was the CART championship that attracted F1 stars making a return, such as Nelson Piquet Sr and especially Nigel Mansell, today, the American single-seater has fallen out of favor, largely due to the split into two series that paved the way for NASCAR, which has already included many single-seater drivers. For instance, A.J. Foyt, a four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, had an honorable career in NASCAR, notably winning the prestigious Daytona 500 in 1972, just as Mario Andretti did in 1967 before steering his career towards single-seaters in both CART and Formula One. More recently, drivers like Tony Stewart—who will soon swap seats with Lewis Hamilton—Dario Franchitti, Danica Patrick, and three-time IndyCar champion Sam Hornish Jr. have ventured into NASCAR with varying degrees of success.

It is therefore not surprising to see a driver like Kimi Räikkönen venture into NASCAR, especially given the Finnish driver’s eclecticism. Just look at the number of drivers who have transitioned to the DTM championship—and vice versa, in the case of Di Resta—to understand that the boundary between single-seaters and closed cars is not as insurmountable as one might think.

Notably, other former Formula One drivers have recently been involved in NASCAR, starting with Nelson Piquet Jr in search of new credibility in the NASCAR Trucks Series, as well as Jarno Trulli as part of a communication operation for Toyota, which has been engaged in NASCAR for some years.

**Update:** Kimi Räikkönen will make his debut in the NASCAR Truck Series on May 20, during the race held at Charlotte Motor Speedway.