Yahoo Autos F1 Champion Jenson Button's NASCAR Cup Series Debut Was a Trial by Fire
When Jenson Button retired from Formula 1, his racing career was far from over. In fact, in many ways, it was only just beginning. Since his final open-wheel race, Button has taken a championship in Super GT. He’s entered Le Mans and will do so again with Garage 56 this summer. He’d formed teams in series like Extreme E and Nitro Rallycross. And this past weekend, Button took on his first ever start in stock car racing with the NASCAR Cup Series. And we here at Jalopnik heard firsthand just what a unique experience it was for the 2009 F1 champion.
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When I had a chance to sit down with Button, he had just completed practice — “thirteen laps!” he kept exclaiming in disbelief — but was yet to qualify or race. Despite plenty of opportunities for uncertainty, Button was absolutely beaming; his sheer joy at having a chance to pilot a stock car was infectious, and it bled into his every word.
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“It’s been fun, and I’ve enjoyed today,” he said, though he did hedge that the Cup Series schedule was “hectic. There’s so much going on — making sure I’ve got my ear plugs and my shoes. It’s been busier than you’d like, but today is done, and we can relax until qualifying tomorrow.”
In the press conference prior to my interview, Button had laughingly admitted to several different faux pas throughout the weekend. He’d forgotten how to actually start the Cup car. He had to remember how to drive a sequential gearbox, which he allegedly hadn’t done “since 1999.” He called the presence of spotters in his headset “quite soothing.” And he poked fun at the other competitors, noting how in Cup racing, drivers on a slow lap don’t move out of the way when you’re on a heater.
“I think I might bring that up in the drivers’ meeting,” Button told me, his eyes sparkling with amusement. “See if I get booed.”
I asked Button for his impressions on driving the Cup car itself, a vehicle far different than the nimble open-wheel and sports cars he’s more used to driving.
“The car is so heavy that it feels a bit lazy,” he said. “It feels like you’re just waiting the whole time [on high-speed straights]. Even some corners around here in F1 are tricky because they’re slow and long, but with Cup...
“I’m still struggling to get my turn-in right, too — especially at high speed. I’m turning in a little bit too late and missing the apex.”
He pointed out the sheer amount of things on the windshield, the safety features and windshield wipers, in order to note that there’s so much in his field of vision that he wasn’t used to. “My eyes go right to everything on the windscreen and focus on that, so I struggle to see past it,” he said.
