Kimi Räikkonen, the 2007 Formula One world champion, has requested and received approval to run in a Nascar Camping World Truck Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 20, said Amanda Jones Ellis, a spokeswoman for the series.
Turun Sanomat, a newspaper in the racer’s native Finland, reported Tuesday that Räikkönen, 31, is expected to race with a new team in the truck series, followed perhaps by a move to the Nationwide Series and then into the Sprint Cup Series, the big leagues of stock-car racing. Räikkönen did not disclose how many truck series races he planned to drive this season.
“I’m really looking forward to get there to familiarize to the world of Nascar,” he told the newspaper. “I have been following it for a long time. I just love the American spirit of racing. Obviously, it will be very challenging and great fun for me.”
Räikkönen would not be the first former Formula One driver to move to Nascar. Juan Pablo Montoya won seven Formula One races in five seasons before joining Chip Ganassi’s Nascar team in 2006. Montoya has won two Sprint Cup Series races in 150 attempts.
Montoya, a native of Colombia who also won the Indianapolis 500, is widely credited with bringing a new group of fans into stock-car racing. Similarly, Räikkönen, who won seven Formula One races in 2005 and six in 2007, may cause European auto-racing fans to be more curious about Nascar.
The Finn, known by competitors and fans as the Iceman, left the Ferrari Formula One team after the 2009 season. After failing to land a position with another top-level Formula One program, Räikkönen drove in 15 races in the World Rally Championship, finishing 10th in the standings last year.
Räikkönen’s new team, ICE 1, will be owned by Foster Gillett, who ran the day-to-day operations at Richard Petty Motorsports. Gillett’s family owned the Montreal Canadiens hockey franchise and are also former co-owners of the Liverpool soccer team.
Despite his Nascar ambitions, Räikkönen has not abandoned W.R.C. He is expected to participate in eight races for a team also known as ICE 1 this season, driving a Citroën.
Source: The New York Times
Courtesy: Kriss
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