Yahoo Autos How 2007 F1 Champ Kimi Raikkonen Fared in His NASCAR Cup Debut at Watkins Glen
Formula 1 world champion Kimi Räikkönen had a solid effort in his NASCAR Cup Series debut—running as high as eighth place in Sunday's Go Bowling at the Glen race at Watkins Glen in Stage 2 before pitting.
His day in the No. 91 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet came to an early end, however, when he was nudged off-track and into a tire barrier while racing among a large group of cars on the ensuing restart.
Räikkönen 41, of Finland climbed out of his car and appeared fine physically. Although disappointed with the finish to what looked like a promising day, he said he was still overall happy with his debut in NASCAR’s big leagues.
“It was good fun, you know, and I felt more confident all the time and had some good battles and the car felt like it had a lot of speed in there, but that’s how it goes sometimes,’’ said Räikkönen, who officially finished 37th in the 39-car field.
Kyle Larson won the race over runner-up AJ Allmending, while Joey Logano clinched the regular-season championship.
The race complete a Triple Crown of sorts for Raikkonen who has now raced in all three top NASCAR series. He raced in the NASCAR Xfinity and Truck Series in 2011.
The Project 91 effort is an initiative created by Trackhouse Racing co-owner Justin Marks to attract top international drivers to the NASCAR Cup Series to race in the team's third car. Raikkonen's race was a one-off and the only Project 91 effort for 2022. Marks hopes to lure other top racers to his third car in 2023.
NASCAR Cup Series
36th Annual Go Bowling at The Glen
Watkins Glen International
1. (2) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 90.
2. (6) AJ Allmendinger(i), Chevrolet, 90.
3. (20) Joey Logano, Ford, 90.
4. (1) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 90.
5. (9) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 90.
6. (3) Michael McDowell, Ford, 90.
7. (5) Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet, 90.
8. (38) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 90.
9. (7) Chris Buescher, Ford, 90.
10. (31) Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 90.
11. (29) Cole Custer, Ford, 90.
12. (24) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 90.
13. (8) Austin Cindric #, Ford, 90.
14. (11) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 90.
15. (21) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 90.
16. (28) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 90.
17. (12) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 90.
18. (13) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 90.
19. (15) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 90.
20. (22) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 90.
21. (18) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 90.
22. (4) William Byron, Chevrolet, 90.
23. (25) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 90.
24. (26) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 90.
25. (14) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 90.
26. (16) Ty Gibbs(i), Toyota, 90.
27. (32) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 90.
28. (30) Harrison Burton #, Ford, 90.
29. (35) Aric Almirola, Ford, 90.
30. (33) Mike Rockenfeller, Chevrolet, 90.
31. (17) Joey Hand, Ford, 90.
32. (10) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 89.
33. (34) Loris Hezemans(i), Ford, 89.
34. (39) Cody Ware, Ford, 88.
35. (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, Suspension, 83.
36. (36) Daniil Kvyat, Toyota, 58.
37. (27) Kimi Raikkonen, Chevrolet, Accident, 44.
38. (19) Todd Gilliland #, Ford, Rear End, 28.
39. (37) Kyle Tilley, Ford, Steering, 15.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 95.962 mph.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 17 Mins, 52 Secs. Margin of Victory: .882 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 5 for 11 laps.
Lead Changes: 12 among 9 drivers.
Lap Leaders: C. Elliott 1-3;M. McDowell 4-11;T. Reddick 12-13;C. Elliott 14-15;C. Briscoe 16-22;T. Gilliland # 23-27;J. Logano 28-42;M. McDowell 43-48;C. Elliott 49-58;C. Custer 59-65;A. Dillon 66-71;C. Elliott 72-85;K. Larson 86-90.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Chase Elliott 4 times for 29 laps; Joey Logano 1 time for 15 laps; Michael McDowell 2 times for 14 laps; Chase Briscoe 1 time for 7 laps; Cole Custer 1 time for 7 laps; Austin Dillon 1 time for 6 laps; Todd Gilliland # 1 time for 5 laps; Kyle Larson 1 time for 5 laps; Tyler Reddick 1 time for 2 laps.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 14,8,99,38,1,22,42,34,18,16
Stage #2 Top Ten: 22,18,34,9,42,15,17,5,41,20
