NASCAR allowed Raikkonen and fellow rookie Mike Rockenfeller, who will race for the Spire Motorsports colors, to drive a Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 operated by Action Express as part of the Select Driver Orientation program at Virginia International Speedway.
The 2007 Formula 1 world champion will drive for the Trackhouse in the Watkins Glen road race, which will take place on August 21, as team mate of Daniel Suarez and Ross Chastain. The Finn’s appearance is part of Trackhouse’s Project 91 initiative, which aims to expand NASCAR’s reach by introducing world-class drivers to the Cup.
At the end of the test, Raikkonen said: “I have nothing to compare the car with, but I think it was nice to do a few laps, even if it’s not exactly the same car we will be racing with.”
“It was very useful to do some laps and have some fun, to understand what the car does, to do long runs to find out. I’m sure it will now be easier to practice for the race.”
“Obviously I have some experience with the Cup cars since 2011. This car is of the new generation, it is much more beautiful, more or less as I expected. I tried the simulator to get an idea, everything is ok. . Obviously the same things happen that happen to a normal car, so when the tires warm up you slide more “.
“So far it has gone well”.
Kimi Raikkonen
Photo by: Project91
The race at the Glen will also be Raikkonen’s first engagement since he retired from Formula 1 last December, at the end of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the wheel of the Alfa Romeo.
Kimi also did some pit stop tests with the team to be as prepared as possible, despite NASCAR’s rather strict test rules.
“Maybe we did 50 laps or something,” he said of the test. “Without this test and without the simulator, for sure I would have gone straight to free practice and then to qualifying, and it would have been much more difficult.”
“At least we prepared the best, so thanks to NASCAR, which allowed us to do these laps, we did the best we could and the most we could, so we’ll see what we get. Obviously this is a new track for me, so I need to learn it, so we’ll see what we can do. “
Raikkonen, who has a start in Xfinity Series and a Truck Series race with Kyle Busch Motorsports during his gap year from F1, says he has enjoyed the experience so far.
“The team did a great job, with really nice people, and it was fun to be in the car,” he added.
“I haven’t driven a racing car since the last F1 race, so it was fun and I hope I can get a good result in the race.”
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