Former Formula 1 world champion Kimi Raikkonen will make a surprising move to NASCAR this year, the Finn joining the series with a new team. According to the Turun Sanomat newspaper, Raikkonen – the 2007 world champion – will be racing with the new ICE1 Racing team in the Truck series before moving on to the Nationwide and Sprint Cup series. He is expected to join the championship from this summer, although no dates are yet confirmed. Raikkonen will be joining forces with Foster Gillett, who will be a major partner of the team, having worked with Richard Petty Motorsport in NASCAR last year. According to the newspaper, the negotiations about which car the ICE1 Racing team will run are about to be completed. Raikkonen will continue to compete in the World Rally Championship this year, where he has a deal for eight events.(AutoSport.com)(3-29-2011)
UPDATE: The Finnish Turun Sanomat newspaper reports that [Foster] Gillett will be “a major partner” in Raikkonen’s new ICE1 Racing Team. Former Gillett Evernham Motorsports minority partner Ray Evernham commented on the reports, saying, “Kimi Raikkonen must not be as smart as people say he is. “I honestly can’t believe it will happen,” added Evernham, who sold a majority interest in his team to George Gillett and still claims to be owed millions of dollars. “I can’t see how (the team) will be able to get parts and pieces. I can’t imagine anyone doing business with (Gillett), considering the past history. “That’s just my opinion,” he said, “but the facts are there. There are a lot of people out there who are still owed a lot of money. It’s a joke.” Evernham said he makes “absolutely no distinction” between Gillett the father and Gillet the son, saying both men “sat in all the meetings and made the decisions. One is as responsible as the other. I don’t see a difference between them, and I cant see how anyone else would, either.”(Sirius-Speedway.com)(3-29-2011)
UPDATE 2: Kimi Raikkonen, 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.(NYTimes.com)(3-30-2011)
UPDATE 3: Kimi Raikkonen is set to have his maiden stock car test next week, driving for NASCAR star Kyle Busch, who fields a leading outfit in the Truck Series. AUTOSPORT has learned that the former Formula 1 world champion is set to drive a Toyota Tundra for the multiple NASCAR race winner and former Nationwide Series champion, who has fielded the #18 Truck entry since 2010. Team officials confirmed contact with Raikkonen and also a test being set for Monday at Gresham Motorsports Park, a half-mile track in Jefferson, Georgia, where the former Ferrari and McLaren racer will get his first taste of an oval. Kyle Busch currently holds the NASCAR track record at the venue, set in testing last October.(AutoSport.com)(4-1-2011)
UPDATE 4: Former F1 Champion Raikkonen to drive limited schedule for KBM: Kyle Busch Motorsports announced today that they have signed former Formula 1 champion Kimi Raikkonen to drive a limited schedule in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series during the 2011 season. Raikkonen is scheduled to make his NASCAR debut as a teammate to owner Kyle Busch in the N.C. Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 20. Raikkonen comes to NASCAR with a resume that includes the 2007 Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship. Over his nine year career in Formula 1, the Finnish driver registered 18 wins and 62 podium finishes. The 31-year old is currently competing for a World Rally Car Championship for his own team, ICE 1 Racing. Details of sponsorship and a schedule of races that Raikkonen will compete in will be released at a later date.(Kyle Busch Motorsports PR)(4-2-2011) UPDATE 5: Kimi Raikkonen will pay a reported $100,000 per race as he moves to establish a career in America’s premier NASCAR series. Canada’s Rue Frontenac said driver and team owner “Kyle Busch has never met Kimi Raikkonen” but will “entrust one of his excellent trucks” to the Finn “in exchange for a US $100,000 check at every race”. Rue Frontenac said Raikkonen’s plan is to “pay for some truck races to raise interest and get a sponsorship budget for Nationwide and possibly the (premier) Sprint Cup”. His contract with Busch is reportedly for three to five races. “Raikkonen shopped around for a drive with a number of teams and we won the war,” Busch is quoted as saying. Raikkonen tested the truck at the Gresham half-mile on Monday.(Facebook – Ice 1 Racing)(4-5-2011)
UPDATE 6: Perky Jerky the ultra-premium jerky flavored with a hint of guarana that’s quickly gaining fame around the world, announced today its sponsorship of former Formula One World Champion and current World Rally competitor, Kimi Raikkonen. The relationship is set to launch alongside Raikkonen’s NASCAR debut in the Camping World Truck Series on May 20th. In 2011, Raikkonen will sport the Perky Jerky livery in NASCAR through IceOne Racing, Rikknen’s motorsport outfit.(PerkyJerky.com)(4-6-2011)
UPDATE 7: In preparation for his NASCAR debut at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 20, Ice 1 Racing’s Kimi Raikkonen participated in three days of testing with Kyle Busch Motorsports this week. The former Formula 1 champion made his first laps around an oval track during a two-day test session at Gresham Motorsports on Monday and Tuesday, followed by a one-day test at Rockingham Speedway on Thursday. After successfully completing the two-day test at the half-mile oval, KBM officials added the one-day test at Rockingham Speedway, a one-mile oval, to allow Raikkonen to experience the feel of a larger and faster track. “We only ran about 50 laps today because it was obvious that we didn’t need to get much more out of this test,” said KBM crew chief Eric Phillips “The kid definitely knows how to drive.”(Kyle Busch Motorsports PR)(4-8-2011)
