Raikkonen’s Cup Debut Ends In Crash

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — What started out as a solid outing for Kimi Raikkonen, took a sour turn for the 2007 Formula 1 champion at Watkins Glen International.

As drivers trickled through the bus stop on Lap 46, Ross Chastain turned Austin Dillon, which stacked the field up behind them. 

Raikkonen would be sideswipped by Loris Hezemans, briefly lifting the No. 91 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet’s right front tire, sending the Finnish driver into the outside tire barrier, nose-first.

“I don’t know what happened in front of the cars, I had a good line going there, and they all pushed kind of right and I kept a tight line,” said Raikkonen, who finished 37th out of 39 cars. “But then on the second part, when they told me that somebody spun in front of the cars that were there, everybody kind of came left and hit me on the side. There’s nothing I could’ve done. The first hit on my car, it spun the wheel out of my hands, and something went wrong in the wrist. I’ll fix it when I get back home, so it’s a part of the game.”

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Raikkonen turned heads prior to the Lap 46 accident, after making assertive passes all around the track, and running as high as eighth in the race. 

For Raikkonen, it was an enjoyable learning experience each lap he drove around the 2.45-mile road course in a stock car for the first time. 

“Everything is new, I got the full service with the rain and everything,” Raikkonen said. “I felt that we were quite good at first, and then we overheat the rear tires in the rain. Getting into the race and getting a bit more confident at the time throughout course than not. Unfortunately, at the end there, just before it started to matter where we are, it’s how it is.”

The driver of the No. 91 battled with multiple drivers on track, including regular-season champion Chase Elliott. Each battle was a new learning experience for Raikkonen. 

Though for Raikkonen, focusing on strategy and tire conservation became the big key throughout the event. 

“It’s always hard to know, especially now in here, what stage they stop, the tire life and that,” Raikkonen said. “I felt that we had very good speed, especially after the pit stops when maybe I was a bit too harsh on tires on one of the sets. It was good.”

When asked if he would consider coming back to the NASCAR Cup Series in the future, his answer was short and to the point.

“I don’t know myself. I have nothing against it, and we’ll see.”