Trackhouse Racing announced Wednesday that their PROJECT91 team will make its 2023 season debut at Circuit of the Americas with Kimi Raikkonen behind the wheel of the No. 91 Chevrolet. Raikkonen will make his second NASCAR Cup Series start after making his debut with PROJECT91 at Watkins Glen last August.
Raikkonen, the 2007 Formula One world champion, became the first driver to take the wheel for the PROJECT91 team, which was established by Trackhouse last year as a gateway to NASCAR for international racing stars.
In his first NASCAR appearance in nearly a dozen years, Raikkonen qualified 27th at Watkins Glen and held his own in the first half of the race before his day ended early when he was collected in a crash on Lap 44.
The Iceman RETURNS!@F1’s Kimi Raikkonen will be back behind the wheel at @COTA!
— PROJECT91 (@THProject91) March 8, 2023
DETAILS: https://t.co/9EfH1UowiQ pic.twitter.com/NJJ3weuhjC
"I had a fantastic time in NASCAR," Räikkönen said in a statement. "There was a lot to learn in a very short amount of time, but everyone was very helpful, the competition was a big challenge. This time I get to race on a track I am familiar with so there won't be as steep of a learning curve. I want to have fun, but also do as well as we can."
Raikkonen's second appearance in Cup will come at a track where he is already acquainted with Victory Lane. Raikkonen won the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in 2018, a win which broke a 113-race winless streak and was the 21st and final victory of The Iceman's F1 career.
