After retiring from F1 at the end of 2021, Kimi Raikkonen was keen on spending time with his family. However, he accepted the opportunity to make a cameo appearance in NASCAR in 2022. While Raikkonen had some familiarity with NASCAR machinery, Denny Hamlin was certain that he wouldn’t be a contender for the race win.
It was the Cup Series race at Watkins Glen, where the former Ferrari driver competed for Trackhouse Racing under Project 91 — an initiative aimed at expanding NASCAR’s international reach by featuring non-American racing drivers like Raikkonen.
The Finnish driver had competed in a couple of races at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Xfinity Series and the Truck Series in 2011, during his sabbatical from F1. During that time, he also tried his hand at rallying before returning to the pinnacle of motorsport in 2012.
As for Raikkonen‘s Watkins Glen cameo in 2022, Hamlin was pleased to see international drivers competing in a Cup Series event and recognized the publicity NASCAR could gain from it. However, he was confident that the NASCAR drivers would have no trouble going up against the 2007 F1 champ.
“As far as being a contender to race for the win, I don’t think that’s a possibility. Just simply because it does take time. If you look at the people who have been successful in stock cars coming from open-wheel backgrounds, it takes a long time,” he said.
The Florida-born driver acknowledged that some exceptional drivers, like Tony Stewart and Juan Pablo Montoya, had successfully transitioned from open-wheel racing to stock car racing with ease.
Still, as the years have passed by, it has become difficult to compete in NASCAR, owing to the amount of data that is available, which makes incumbent drivers better every season. Even Daniel Suarez brought up the point that even though Raikkonen had the “speed”, he will need to practice in a simulator to familiarize himself with the racing in NASCAR.
Both Hamlin and Suarez were correct with their assessment, as the Finnish driver suffered a DNF at Watkins Glen while Kyle Larson took the top honors that afternoon. Given it was his debut in the NASCAR Cup Series, it would’ve been a disappointing outing for Raikkonen.
However, the Iceman is known for his nonchalant demeanor and rarely loses his cool, even in the worst situations. He likely treated the experience as just another race and moved on quickly. A year later, he returned to the Cup Series at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, where 2009 F1 champion Jenson Button was also making his debut. Raikkonen finished 29th for Trackhouse Racing this time.