An interest in various forms of motorsports lured Kimi Raikkonen to NASCAR. Beyond that, the former Formula One world champion gave no indication Friday how much interest he has in America’s top racing series. “I want to try different things and this wasn’t the first time that I have been offered to come here. I had a good time to come and see how it is and learn and try to get better in it,” he said. “That’s really the only reason that I came. I was interested to see how it is and how it feels and how it is racing in NASCAR.” The Finn spent nine years in Formula One, driving for Sauber, McLaren and Ferrari. He totaled 18 wins, 62 podium finishes and won the 2007 championship. Raikkonen offered no details in what could be next for him, and indicated it’s not that uncommon for him to be unsure of his plans. He said he didn’t even decide to do the WRCC series until January. “I don’t have big plans. I don’t have any plans for next year or anything of what I do,” he said. “I see how it is because I didn’t have any expectations when I came here. It’s a bit like when I went to rally — I didn’t have much expectation, I wanted to see how it is. “It’s the same story here. For sure, it’s a different sport. Different type of racing than what we have in Europe. It’s very popular here and maybe it looks easy, but it’s not so easy to be fast. We’ll see how it goes and what the future will bring. We go step by step and see what happens.” He said NASCAR so far has been harder than it looks, and if he’s not good at adapting to the truck or the heavy stock-cars, he would be less inclined to continue the venture.[SPEED/tv’s Ray Dunlap reported during the NCWTS practice broadcast that Raikkonen was scheduled to run two more truck races; Martinsville and Homestead.](AP/ESPN.com)(5-20-2011)
UPDATE: The pieces to the Kimi Raikkonen Nationwide Series puzzle are coming together. FOXSports.com has learned that the car is being assembled by Kyle Busch Motorsports but the owner points will come from Joe Nemechek’s #87 entry, registered under NEMCO Motorsports, which is currently 19th in the NASCAR Nationwide Series points standings. The crew will come from NEMCO with additional support from KBM employees. NEMCO will provide transporter, equipment and back up car for the race. Raikkonen finished 15th in his NASCAR Camping World Truck debut. The 2007 Formula One champion was approved to compete in next Saturday’s Nationwide Series race prior to Friday night’s event.(Fox Sports)(5-21-2011)
