"He’s really become part of the family": Kimi Raikkonen returning to NASCAR discussed by Trackhouse Racing owner 

Kimi Raikkonen will race for Trackhouse Entertainment Group once more in its special Project91 entry, which is meant to give drivers from other disciplines a chance in NASCAR.

Last year, Kimi Raikkonen of Finland competed in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen with Justin Marks' Trackhouse Racing. The former F1 racer finished in the top 10 before crashing through with no fault of his own. He'll be back in Trackhouse's No. 91 Chevrolet for the Cup Series event at Circuit of the Americas on March 26.

Kimi Raikkonen will compete in another NASCAR Cup Series event, this time at the Circuit of the Americas, where he won his final Formula One race in 2018.

He will race for the Trackhouse Entertainment Group once more in its special Project91 entry.

Raikkonen made his Cup Series debut for Trackhouse at Watkins Glen last August. He was competitive at the event until being caught in a crash and finished 37th.

"He’s really become part of the family [...] he’s real excited about coming back and this time he’ll be at a track he’s been to before,” Trackhouse owner Justin Marks said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Kimi Raikkonen anticipates having an even better experience at COTA. He has made eight F1 starts at COTA, and his win for Ferrari on the Texas road circuit in 2018 was the last of his 21 career victories. At COTA, the 2007 F1 champion has two career podiums.

"When we announced Kimi last year I said he was the global superstar I had in mind when we created PROJECT91," said Marks.

"I think you saw the fan reception across the world and Kimi’s performance in the car was proof of the concept. Kimi’s following is massive and it’s great for NASCAR, Trackhouse plus I think Kimi really enjoys our racing."

A stock car certainly won't feel the same as, say, his old Ferrari, but at least he'll know where the track goes. His performance last year was outstanding, so expectations are high.

Raikkonen will be paired with Darian Grubb, who won a Cup Series championship with Tony Stewart in 2011. He'll compete alongside Ross Chastain and Trackhouse's other driver, Daniel Suárez.

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Kimi Raikkonen wanted to switch from Sauber to McLaren

Raikkonen's performances in his debut season drew a lot of attention. He finished the 2001 season in 10th place, and Sauber finished fourth in the constructor's championship. This attracted the attention of Ferrari and McLaren. When McLaren approached the Iceman, he said yes without hesitation.

Beat Zehnder, Sauber F1 team manager, recalls that the team had no choice but to let the Finn go.

“We had a bulletproof 3-year contract with him. But he made it very clear that he is either gonna stop racing or move to McLaren.” Zehnder said.

Ron Dennis eventually paid $14 million for Raikkonen's services. Sauber was able to redirect funds to their under-construction wind tunnel in Switzerland.

The team intended to upgrade their facilities in 1999, but construction did not begin until June 2002. Peter Sauber has invested approximately $55 million in this project, with a significant portion coming from Kimi's transfer.