Next weekend, retired Formula 1 star Kimi Raikkonen will race head-to-head with the stars of the NASCAR Cup Series at Watkins Glen road course in America. On Thursday, he got his first taste of the Next Gen car that he’ll drive for Trackhouse Racing as its ‘Project 91’ entry in Virginia. At the Glen, he’ll be thrown in with the sharks – hard-headed pros who are paid millions of dollars to race these cars week-in, week-out. While they’ll be nice as pie off track to his face, expect them to lay their fenders on him any chance they get! Kimi gets one hour of practice next Saturday, at a track he’s never raced at before, then goes straight into qualifying. On Sunday, he’ll get plenty of track time to get his teeth into it – 90 laps around the historic former US Grand Prix venue – which should equate to over two hours of seat time. He’ll also have fellow ex-F1 racer Daniil Kvyat and Le Mans 24 Hours winner Mike Rockenfeller for company, along with Euro NASCAR star Loris Hezemans. But I don’t think it’s them he has to worry about… By: Charles Bradley, Global Editor in Chief Motorsport.com |