Yahoo Autos Kimi Räikkönen Will Run NASCAR Cup Series Race at COTA
Last year, Finnish Formula 1 champ Kimi Räikkönen ran the NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen with Justin Marks' Trackhouse Racing. He ran in the top-ten, before being crashed out through no fault of his own. Later this month, he'll once again hop in Trackhouse's No. 91 Chevrolet for the Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas on March 26.
On Instagram, Kimi was typically verbose, saying "[NASCAR] is nice. I'm back with @teamtrackhouse and @iloq_official at COTA in Austin." Trackhouse's PROJECT91 attempts to get elite talent outside of the normal stock-car ranks for special appearances in Cup Series races. So far, Kimi is the only driver who's run the No. 91 car for Trackhouse, though team owner Justin Marks says the team plans to expand the program this year.
"When we announced Kimi last year I said he was the global superstar I had in mind when we created PROJECT91," said Marks in a statement. "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."
Kimi thinks he'll have an even better time at COTA, as it's a track he's raced and won at previously. Obviously, a stock car will feel much different there than, say, his old Ferrari, but at least he'll know where the track goes. His performance last year was impressive, so expectations will be high.
In other driver news, Corvette Racing ace Jordan Taylor will sub for the injured Chase Elliott at the COTA race. Elliott won the first Cup Series race at COTA in 2021 while Ross Chastain took the checkered flag for Trackhouse last year.
Kimi will be paired with crew chief Darian Grubb, who won a Cup Series title with Tony Stewart in 2011. He'll race alongside Chastain and Trackhouse's other full-timer, Daniel Suárez
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