Yahoo Autos Kimi Raikkonen Will Start 27th in Tomorrow's NASCAR Cup Series Race
Kimi Raikkonen's NASCAR career is, oddly, not new. Raikkonen last came to the world of stock car racing during his brief intermission from open wheel racing in 2011, a stretch that included one race each in the Truck and Xfinity categories. He returned to Formula 1 in 2012, leaving the world of racing trucks sponsored by something called Perky Jerky behind to focus on a career that would include another three wins in ten years with Lotus, Ferrari, and Sauber. That came to an end with his retirement at the end of last season, so Raikkonen has simply picked up his NASCAR career where he left off: Making his Cup Series debut.
Raikkonen will start 27th for tomorrow's race at Watkins Glen, a disappointing qualifying run after showing some promise in practice. He'll be tasked with fighting through the field in Trackhouse's part-time No. 91, a third car entered by the team for drivers from other forms of racing interested in trying out stock cars. Trackhouse has three race wins this year, including two on road courses, so Raikkonen's equipment should be up to par. Learning how to drive a stock car, however, is another question entirely.
Raikkonen has tested a stock car on a road course on multiple occasions and has raced other levels of stock car on an oval, but tomorrow will be his first run in race conditions. Starting deep in the field, NASCAR's double file restarts will be an immediate concern. Two weeks ago, a Cup Series race had so many turn 1 crashes that Raikkonen's one-week Trackhouse teammate Ross Chastain chose to ignore the corner entirely on the final restart and intentionally run through an escape lane. Unlike Formula 1, which has standing starts but relatively organized single-file restarts after safety cars, Raikkonen will have to deal with that sort of chaos on every restart.
No matter how he does, Raikkonen will at least not be alone as a decorated driver debuting in the race. 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller, who is running this event with Spire Motorsports, will roll off 33rd. Raikkonen's fellow F1 veteran Daniil Kvyat made his Cup Series debut earlier this year, but he's back for this round and will start 36th.
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