Kimi Raikkonen to make NASCAR return with Trackhouse
CONCORD, N.C. — Trackhouse Racing announced Kimi Raikkonen will return to NASCAR for the first time in 11 years.
Raikkonen will make his NASCAR Cup Series debut, driving a No. 91 Chevrolet for Trackhouse at Watkins Glen, Aug. 21.
The 2007 Formula One World Champion’s most recent NASCAR start was May 28, 2011, in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Charlotte. He stepped away from full-time F1 competition after last season.
“I wasn’t looking to race again, but Justin came to my home in Switzerland and convinced me how serious he was about putting together a top-notch program,” Raikkonen said. “This will be fun, but it’s something I will take very seriously. I know how competitive the NASCAR Cup Series is and it will be a big challenge.”
Raikkonen will be the first driver for the team’s PROJECT91, aimed at expanding the organization’s international reach by bringing accomplished international racers into the Cup Series.
“Kimi Raikkonen is the driver I first had in mind when we created PROJECT91,” team owner Justin Marks said. “Kimi is a world-renowned driver with a tremendous amount of talent and fan following. We have had long discussions and, like us, he is already hard at work preparing for Watkins Glen.”
Raikkonen’s entry at Watkins Glen is set to be the only PROJECT91 race for 2022 but more races are expected in 2023 with additional drivers.
Darian Grubb will serve as Raikkonen’s crew chief.
As a crew chief, Grubb has 23 Cup wins – with Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards and Casey Mears. One of his wins was at Watkins Glen in 2009 with Stewart who, in 2011, he also won the Cup championship with.
Grubb’s most recent race was the 2018 Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway when he closed out his full-time tenure with William Byron, with a 24th-place finish.
Kimi Raikkonen made two NASCAR starts, each at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2011.
Raikkonen finished 15th driving a No. 15 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Eight days later, he finished 27th, four laps down, driving a NASCAR Xfinity Series No. 87 NEMCO Motorsports Toyota.
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com