Raikkonen enjoys first NASCAR test!!!
Kimi Raikkonen says he enjoyed his first NASCAR experience after testing this week for Kyle Busch Motorsports for the first time.
According to a release from Raikkonen's ICE1 Racing, the Finn completed over 400 laps at the half-mile Gresham Motorsports Park oval, working with KBM's engineers on various set up adjustments to familiarize himself with his new technical environment.
"It was a lot of fun, I really had no expectations or anything to compare it to beforehand but at the end of the day, I am really looking forward to the first race," said Raikkonen. "It seems like KBM is a top team and I am excited to work with them."
As AUTOSPORT reported earlier, Kyle Busch was on hand to see the progress of the former Formula 1 world champion, who left a great impression on the team on what was his first run on a stock car, and also his maiden outing on an oval.
"On one hand, I am obviously not surprised at all with the type of experience Kimi has and his championship pedigree," said Kyle Busch Motorsports General Manager Rick Ren. "But on the other hand, I am very pleasantly surprised."
Although the team initially announced last Saturday that they had signed Raikkonen himself, ICE1 Racing's release says it has entered a partnership with KBM to run a limited race schedule for the Finn in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, starting on May 20 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
On Wednesday, American brand Perky Jerky was also announced as a sponsor of Raikkonen for his NASCAR foray.
Last October the same brand had been announced as a sponsor for Richard Petty Motorsports, while the team was still under ownership from George Gillett Jr.
His son Foster was linked to Raikkonen's NASCAR move initially, according to reports from Finland's Turun Sanomat, but Kyle Busch denied last weekend at Martinsville having any contact with him to put Raikkonen's deal in place.
Busch: Raikkonen fast in truck tests!!!
Kyle Busch says Kimi Raikkonen was able to reproduce the impressive form he showed during his first NASCAR truck test at Gresham Motorsports Park, when he ran again on Thursday during another one-day test at Rockingham Speedway.
The former Formula 1 world champion turned World Rally Championship contender had his NASCAR baptism last Monday with multiple Sprint Cup race-winner and former Nationwide Series champion Kyle Busch's team. Busch was in attendence to oversee Raikkonen's progress in his Camping World Truck Series squad.
Speaking on Thursday at Texas Motor Speedway, Busch said Raikkonen set "identical" lap times to the NASCAR star's during the test.
He added that the Finn also ran faster expected today on another test they were able to arrange at the one-mile, 25-degree banking of Rockingham in North Carolina.
"The test went really well at Gresham," said Busch. "Kimi is a race car driver so he does know how to drive race cars and drive them well.
"I wasn't there until later on in the afternoon on [Monday] and I got to see it first hand. I got in the truck myself and ran some laps to see how I compared to where he was at on tyres and stuff and we ran identical lap times, so he's right there - he knows what he's doing.
"They ran another day at Gresham and was kind of getting used to caution laps, running down pit road, watching the lights on the tach and how all that goes. Working on some restart stuff and getting him accustomed to coming up through the gears quick and not spinning the tyres on restarts.
"There's still some things that we'd like to work on a little bit more, but we don't feel like there's any time before he gets back.
"There was another test today, they were in Rockingham with our trucks and he did good again, ran a lot better than we expected to run there - a lot faster than we expected to run there."
"I'm real happy with it. He's off and on his way to Jordan now for the [World Rally Championship] stuff. We wish him the best of luck this weekend."
Busch said following their debut race at Charlotte on May 20 they will review their plans to continue to smoothe Raikkonen's NASCAR transition.
The former Nationwide Series champion said Raikkonen has asked for advice about teams to race with in the Nationwide or Sprint Cup Series in the future, including the possibility of making the step up with Kyle Busch Motorsports, which only competes in trucks currently.
"He has asked after the truck debut in Charlotte, which is what our first focus is, kind of evaluating and seeing where he's at and how he feels and what he wants to do," Busch said.
"He has asked about Nationwide and Cup and if Kyle Busch Motorsports could do that or where would be the best place to do that. Like I said, he wants to reevaluate all that once we get past Charlotte."
"... I've told everybody here that [Kyle Busch Motorsports would like to go to Nationwide," Busch added. "We'd like to have a full-time Nationwide team next year and work towards that. In order to work towards that, you'd work towards that this year.
"If it came to be the right situation and we can get cars built or get cars from JGR [Joe Gibbs Racing], it would all be a tell-tale thing.
"So, we just have to wait and see. Right now our focus is on Charlotte and the truck race there and making sure we get the right stuff under Kimi that he can run well and be good and get some results and some success."
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