The Finn will drive for Trackhouse Racing in the race on 21 August, driving a Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 together with teammates Daniel Suarez and Ross Chastain.
It will be his first outing in a motorsport event since he ended his 20-year F1 career last December with his last appearance for Sauber-Alfa Romeo at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The 2007 F1 World Champion has a past in NASCAR: he participated in a second tier Xfinity Series race and a Truck Series event in 2011 with Kyle Busch Motorsports during his sabbatical from the circus.
He has also tested a Cup car at VIR in the past, driving the Robby Gordon Motorsports Dodge in 2011, but the test ended early when he went off the track ruining his nose on wet grass.
Earlier in the week, Raikkonen spent time on the Chevrolet Team simulator and analyzed the data together with teammate Suarez.
Raikkonen’s entry into Trackhouse Racing is part of the team’s Project91 initiative, which seeks to expand NASCAR’s reach by giving the # 91 car to international drivers. The trio of Trackhouse pilots at Watkins Glen come from three different countries.
Kimi Raikkonen helmet
Photo by: Project91
‘Iceman’ admitted that he had been given other opportunities earlier in the year to return to racing, but he wanted to take his time to prepare for the Watkins Glen race.
“There were obviously options to do more this year, but I think it all came a little too quickly and I wanted to try to do everything in the best possible way from every point of view,” Raikkonen said.
“I think it was better to wait until this race, so that we can prepare well by doing the job 100%. Nobody knows the result, but we know we can play for it in the best possible conditions.”
“What will happen next? I don’t know, nobody knows. We will try to have a good race, have fun and see what the future holds. I have no other plans. This is what I have planned at the moment, then we’ll see “.
Kimi Raikkonen
Photo by: Project91
The NASCAR rules for testing a Next Gen car were changed on June 15 to allow a test run for drivers entered in a Cup race in the following 90 days. The set of conditions includes limited data logging and trim changes throughout the day.
Three sets of Goodyear tires can be used and no other driver can test the car. The test is limited to 10 hours from the moment the car enters the track.
Kimi Raikkonen
Photo by: Project91
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