By V-Ry the Sports Guy, images courtesy of NASCAR
Watkins Glen – It was a tough day on Sunday at Watkins Glen for two former Formula 1 drivers. Making his NASCAR Cup Series debut was Kimi Raikkonen of Finland, who had driven in two previous NASCAR races, but not in the Cup Series. Daniil Kvyat of Russia was behind the wheel for his second Cup Series race after making his debut at the Brickyard earlier this season.
Kimi Raikkonen was running in eighth place in stage two of the race after pitting when his day came to a premature end. While racing among a large group of cars following a restart, Raikkonen was nudged and ended up hitting a tire barrier. Raikkonen and the number 91 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet performed well in their inaugural run. Raikkonen was a little disappointed, but overall pleased with his performance prior to the accident:
“It was good fun, you know, and I felt more confident all the time and had some good battles and the car felt like it had a lot of speed in there, but that’s how it goes sometimes,’’ said Räikkönen, who officially finished 37th in the 39-car field.
Daniil Kvyat and the number 26 Team Hezeberg Toyota exited the race early on due to mechanical issues, but did later return. However, Kyvat was unable to complete all the laps, officially finishing 36th in the 39-car field. A team official told me that Kvyat’s NASCAR racing future is “up to him.”
