Kimi Raikkonen wrecks out of NASCAR Cup debut

The former F1 World Champion entered the top-20 early in Sunday’s race after starting 27th.

As the race turned from wet to dry conditions, he was on a strategy that would see him up inside the top-ten at the start of the second stage. He held his own, staying inside the top-ten and running as high as eighth until his next green-flag pit stop.

However, it all went wrong on a restart right around halfway. Ross Chastain got into Austin Dillon in the inner loop, sending him spinning. The stack-up resulted in contact between Loris Hezemans and Raikkonen, who went careening nose-first into the barrier to the left-side of the track.

“I thought I had a good line there but everybody seemed to come (to) the left. Unfortunately, I had no time to react,” explained Raikkonen after being released from the infield-care center.

“The first impact, somebody hit the tire or the wheel directly and the (steering) wheel spun. There is something wrong with the wrist, but that’s how it goes.”

Despite the early exit, he enjoyed his time behind the wheel of a Cup Series car, saying it was, “good fun.”

He then added, “I felt more confidence all the time and had some good battles and yeah, it’s a shame. The car felt like it had a lot of speed in there but that’s how it goes sometimes.”

When asked if he would try NASCAR again, Raikkonen would not rule it out. “We’ll see. I don’t know.”

He will finish 37th, having completed 44 of 90 laps before retiring from the event.