2007 F1 world champion Kimi Raikkonen is all set to make a sensational return to racing later this year in a one-off NASCAR appearance at the Watkins Glen International road course. He will drive the No. 91 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in a NASCAR Cup Series race on August 21 for Trackhouse Racing.
Kimi Raikkonen’s staggering stats in F1
42-year-old Kimi Raikkonen, who retired from F1 last year, is one of the most widely respected and popular drivers in the sport. During his illustrious 20-year career in which he won 21 races and stood on the podium on 103 occasions, he raced for some of the biggest teams in the sport. The Finn made his debut at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix with Sauber before driving for the likes of McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, and Alfa Romeo.
Raikkonen, who won the F1 Drivers’ Championship in 2007 while driving for Scuderia Ferrari, will now be participating as a part of a program called PROJECT91 with the aim of expanding Trackhouse’s international reach. Trackhouse Racing is a division of Trackhouse Entertainment Group, which is a venture of former racer Justin Marks and rapper Pitbull.
While Raikkonen has previously competed in the Xfinity and Truck Series races at Charlotte Motor Speedway, he has never competed in a Cup race. On getting the opportunity to race in NASCAR, Raikkonen said via a news release, “I wasn’t looking to race again, but Justin came to my home in Switzerland and convinced me how serious he was about putting together a topnotch program. This will be fun, but it’s something I will take very seriously. I know how competitive the NASCAR Cup Series is and it will be a big challenge.”
Meanwhile, Justin Marks said that Raikkonen’s entry in the event was the only PROJECT91 race planned for this year, while he expects more such races with additional drivers in 2023. As for the Finn’s selection, Marks said in a news release on Thursday, “Kimi Raikkonen is the driver I first had in mind when we created PROJECT91.”Kimi is a world-renowned driver with a tremendous amount of talent and fan following. We have had long discussions, and like us, he is already hard at work preparing for Watkin’s Glen.”
