Two-time Formula 1 champion Kimi Raikkonen said Friday he might run next month’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Infineon Raceway.
But Kyle Busch, who is providing two vehicles for Raikkonen’s NASCAR debut, said he is still owed money from the Finnish driver and will not be working with him going forward after this weekend unless and until he receives additional funding.
Raikkonen made his NASCAR debut last Friday night, finishing 15th in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He is entered in the Top Gear 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at CMS this weekend, piloting a Nemco Motorsports-owned Toyota built by Kyle Busch Motorsports. KBM also provided his truck last weekend.
Thursday afternoon at CMS, Raikkonen briefly met the press in a session that was announced at the last minute and lasted just 6 minutes and 29 seconds, less than half the customary time for NASCAR media availabilities.
Earlier in the week, Raikkonen tested with Robby Gordon Motorsports at Virginia International Raceway, leading to rumors he would enter the Infineon road race.
“Of course you always have it in mind to try to do it,” Raikkonen said of competing in the Cup Series. “The other thing is, is going to happen or not? I don’t know. Of course, I’m probably more keen to do road courses than ovals.”
Asked if we could consider Sonoma, Raikkonen added, “It would be nice to go and do it, but I don’t know if it’s going to happen. We’ll see what happens after this weekend. I have to go back (to Europe) and do my rally stuff.”
Busch initially said the plan was to run three to five races with Raikkonen, but that’s changed. “As far as the Sonoma race, we’ve had no discussions about Cup stuff,” Busch said. “As far as I know, this weekend is the last hurrah with Kimi.”
Asked what changed, Busch was blunt.
“What’s changed is the payment schedule,” Busch said. “The contract states we’re supposed to receive so much (money) and we have not. We’ve only received enough for these two races.”
That said, Busch has been impressed with Raikkonen’s on-track performance to date.
“I thought Kimi did a nice job last week,” Busch said. “Certainly, he gave the truck a good ride. ... He did a nice job with car control.”
As for the forecast for this weekend, Busch said, “What’s to be expected of him this weekend is certainly just to, again, try to run all the laps, try to make 300 miles in a Nationwide Series race, get a feel for what the car is like.”
Raikkonen said he will leave after the NASCAR Nationwide Series race and return to his home in Europe.
Source: Nascar.SpeedTv.com
Courtesy: miezicat
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