Kimi Raikkonen will return to racing later this year in a one-off appearance in NASCAR’s top-flight Cup series.
The 2007 Formula 1 world champion will drive a Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Team Trackhouse in the 25th round of the championship at Watkins Glen.
Trackhouse is courting drivers from outside NASCAR as part of an entry known as Project 91. Raikkonen will join the team’s regular drivers Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez for the race on August 21st.
Raikkonen is not a newcomer to stock car racing. During his two-year break from F1 between 2010 and 2012, he appeared in NASCAR’s second-tier series and its Trucks category, achieving a best finish of 15th at the latter. Both races took place on the Charlotte Motor Speedway oval.
Watkins Glen, the former F1 circuit in New York State, is one of a growing number of road courses on the predominantly oval-based NASCAR schedule. NASCAR uses the shorter, eight-turn 3.9-kilometre layout compared to the 11-turn course F1 last raced on in 1980.
Raikkonen made his F1 debut in 2001 and retired at the end of last season after making a record 349 starts. His successor as F1 world champion, Lewis Hamilton, drove a Chevrolet Impala NASCAR in a demonstration event at Watkins Glen in 2011, the same year Raikkonen made his two previous appearances.
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