Kimi Raikkonen is going stock car racing.
The 2007 Formula 1 world champion is scheduled to drive a Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International on the 21st August. His return to racing will be the first in Trackhouse’s recently announced PROJECT91 program, which is designed to field Cup cars in one-off races for internationally known drivers.
Raikkonen won the F1 championship for Ferrari in 2007 winning 21 F1 races and retired from the series in 2021 having raced for McLaren, Lotus, Alfa Romeo, and Ferrari. He also competed for several seasons in the WRC, and while Räikkönen remains a big fan of rallying, the early starts and long days associated with WRC competition were not among his most treasured memories. His best WRC finish came in 2010, when he placed a Citroën Junior Team C4 WRC fifth at Rally Turkey.
Raikkonen was visited by Trackhouse owner Justin Marks to discuss the PROJECT91 effort. “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 top-notch program,” Raikkonen said. “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.”
“Kimi Raikkonen is the driver I first had in mind when we created PROJECT91,” Marks said. “Kimi is a world-renowned driver with a tremendous amount of talent and fan following.”
Marks added that the Watkins Glen race is expected to be the only outing for the PROJECT91 program this season.
Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez drive full-time for Trackhouse in the Cup Series.
https://www.trackhouse.com/ https://www.trackhouse.com/project-91
