Kimi Raikkonen attempted his first NASCAR Cup Series race with Trackhouse Racing at Watkins Glen International during the 2022 season and ran really well. Unfortunately, Raikkonen was wrecked and finished in 37th place during his debut.
The former Formula 1 driver did not attempt another race with Trackhouse Racing since PROJECT91 did not make another start. However, the entry’s next start appears to be coming sooner rather than later.
Trackhouse Racing has previously said that PROJECT91 will focus on road courses with a goal of running six to eight races during the 2023 season with Raikkonen’s next start arriving in a few weeks.
Related: Kimi Raikkonen makes his NASCAR Cup Series debut at Watkins Glen
Kimi Raikkonen will drive for Trackhouse Racing at COTA after early NASCAR social media post
Raikkonen accidentally spilled the news on Wednesday afternoon after he made a post on Instagram saying he will return to the NASCAR Cup Series with Trackhouse Racing for the race at Circuit of the Americas. The organization then announced the news around 30 minutes later.
This will mark the second start for Raikkonen and PROJECT91 after the program was introduced last year. Trackhouse Racing previously said there was an announcement coming on the entry’s next race almost two weeks ago.
The 2007 Formula 1 champion will be in a stacked field as Jordan Taylor, a sports car racing star, will drive the No. 9 car for Hendrick Motorsports in place of the injured Chase Elliott. There is a difference between the two races that Raikkonen will have attempted after Circuit of the Americas.
Raikkonen had never driven a Cup Series stock car before his first race at Watkins Glen International. In fact, he never had driven at the race track itself until the practice session during the weekend.
Circuit of the Americas has been on the Formula 1 schedule since the 2012 season. Raikkonen has previous experience on the race track and should race even better than he did at Watkins Glen last year.
It is amazing to have more drivers outside of the NASCAR world competing in some of the sport’s biggest races with Circuit of the Americas being an electric event last year. There are only positives to take away from it and the excitement will only continue to rise.