Raikkonen to drive NASCAR truck

F1 Fanatic round-up

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In the round-up: Raikkonen will drive a NASCAR Truck for the first time next month.

Links

Top F1 links from the past 24 hours:

KBM signs Raikkonen for partial Truck schedule (NASCAR)

“Raikkonen, who has raced a partial schedule in the World Rally Championship since leaving Formula One after the 2009 season, will be a team mate to Busch, who won the 2010 Truck Series’ owners’ championship in his team’s first season, at Raikkonen’s debut at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 20.”

F1 circus gone, but Australia GP debate rages on (Reuters)

“The 2011 race attracted 298,000 paying fans to the circuit, 111,000 for the race on Sunday, meaning losses are expected be similar to the A$49.2 ($49.5 million) of last year.”

Lewis Hamilton is the driving force behind brother Nicolas (Daily Express)

"This is my brother making his debut in a racing car. It’s a massive thing and I wouldn’t miss it. I’m really proud."

Lewis Hamilton, Nicolas Hamilton, Brands Hatch, 2011

Lewis Hamilton on Twitter

“Me and Nicolas after his race. I couldn’t be happier for him, worth every bit of my trip back. Hope you’re all well.”

Follow F1 news as it breaks using the F1 Fanatic live Twitter app.

Comment of the day

Schooner is planning a tribute to Rubens Barrichello’s helmet design:

Barrichello’s lid isn’t getting much love here, but it got my vote.

I have always preferred very simple designs, and his looks clean and uncluttered. I understand that modern sponsorship demands make this look hard to accomplish, but to my eye, most helmets these day are too busy-looking.

I always paint my own motorcycle helmets (good thing I like simple!), and I may even do a variation of his design on my next one. High praise indeed, I know :)
Schooner

From the forum

Ned Flanders has started an amusing thread on F1 poetry. I must submit an effort of my own…

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to JT19!

On this day in F1

Fifty years ago today the 1961 Pau Grand Prix, a non-championship race run to F1 rules, was won by Jim Clark.

The Lotus driver finished a minute and a half ahead of Jo Bonnier in another Lotus, with Lorenzo Bandini third in a Maserati.

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Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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73 comments on “Raikkonen to drive NASCAR truck”

  1. I can’t believe Raikkonen is really doing it. Well, lets see how this turns out. He shoud do whatever he feels like doing and whats fun for him. Hope he will do fine (can’t imagine someone like him would enjoy doing something if he doesn’t win regularly).

    1. He’ll enjoy it more if it’s an Ice cream truck.
      Sorry, I know it’s cheesy, but I had to.

    2. Me too can’t believe,Rally we all knew that he love but Nascar. I am surprise,may be a shift.

  2. So Kimi is actually driving trucks not NASCARS?

    That’s like saying ‘Fairuz Fauzi’ will be driving in Formula 1… well by F1 we mean GP2, but eventually he will progress to F1 if he can cut it!!

    Pardon my ignorance on how NASCAR works…

    1. Polishboy808
      3rd April 2011, 0:33

      Theres three braches of racing that are sanctioned by NASCAR, Camping World Truck Series, Sprint Cup, and Nationwide series. They all go around in curcles and they all have spectacular crashes, but honestly, the trucks are the most fun to watch. Its the only Nascar series I watch because of how bizzare those trucks look like xD

      Oh, and they are not Nascars, they are stock cars. Its a really confusing idea….

      1. I think I have it… NASCAR is the governing body.
        This would be the FIA!

        Sprint Cup is the top stock car racing series right? Jimmie Johnson, Earnhart Jr and the like, right?
        This would be F1 in open wheel racing!

        Nationwide is a ‘B’ series, a sort of last stepping stone to the top!
        This would be GP2 in open wheel racing!

        And Trucks are completely differant…. but still offer a path to the top (Sprint Cup).
        This would be DTM?

        1. That sounds like a pretty good comparison to me.

        2. No because the trucks race on the same weekend as the Sprint Cup, dont they?

          1. And the trucks are still ‘modified cars’ like sprintcars while DTM and F1 are compeltely different, open wheelers and etc….

            Think of it this way.

            NASCAR is the brand of american stock car racing.

            That has 3 divisions, sprint, nationwide and truck. They are all part of the NASCAR ‘brand’.

            Think of it more like F1, GP2 and F2. Sort of. There is no exact replica of the concept elsewhere, but it is basic and similiar.

            On a NASCAR weekened there are 3 levels racing
            Sprint cup – highest
            Nationwide – middle
            Trucks – lowest.

            They are all stock car racing. They all race around the same tracks o the same weekends. They are all branded NASCAR. THey just are different ranks or catergories.

            Hope that helps

            ps I hate nascar and wont be following kimi.

          2. Trucks = Porsche Carrera Cup :P

        3. kinda.. except some sprint cup drivers race nationwide (or even trucks) as well..

          its like lewis hamilton whipping everyone in GP2 for a little practice

          1. That’s why I said there was no exact replica in F1.

        4. Fairly accurate. The trucks are cheaper to run, feature a combination of older drivers who don’t compete in the top series anymore and younger drivers with less money ‘to go racing’ than the up-and-coming drivers in Nationwide Series races. And less races (only about 25, compared with 35 in Nationwife, and 36 plus 2 non-points races in Cup).

          Below these 3 are the Nascar West Series and Nascar East Series, plus ARCA (not run by Nascar) which is again a combination of older drivers and up and coming drivers.

          A major difference is that a number of top drivers compete in the lower series as well as the top series – notably Kyle Busch, who last year had one weekend sweep of all 3 races. Some even hop on a place between practices to race at other tracks when the different series aren’t at the same place for the weekend. (A lot of the Nascar drivers just love to race, so you even hear reports of them turning and running at dirt track races, kart races etc midweek between their main Nascar race – and Cup Series driver Kurt Busch has been trying his hand at drag racing). Cup regulars filled 6 of the top 10 places at the last Nationwide race, only 3 in the last truck race (2nd 4th and 20th).

  3. Nic Hamilton qualified 17th for his Clio Cup debut at Brands Hatch, and by following yhat unwritten rule of motorsport being, to finish first, first you have to finish, he was able to make up five positions to finish 12th overall, and though he was last of the finishers, he can be proud of his performance on his debut.

    Having read Lewis Hamilton’s autobiography, it gives an insight to his relationship with brother Nic, and the one thing that comes across strongly is Nic’s desire to succeed! You can guarentee he will be determined to show he can improve over the season!

    Nic Hamilton is a definate inspiration for overcoming adversity! :)

    1. What really matters on a debut is finishing and thats what he did. And if he enjoyed it, I’m happy for him.

      I’m surprised to read this, is it really necessary to have your biography out at the age 26? When I was young, people had that stuff when they turned 60 or 70. Things change in a modern world, seems I’m getting old (and I’m younger than Hamilton). But seems there is interesting stuff in it.

      1. I was thinking about this the other day. It feels nice to me, making bios “as they go”. It delivers interesting things to read a lot quicker than a proper biography, when they’re still hot.

        In the case of LH, he really seems commited about being here to stay. And even if he’s young, he’s achieved quite something.

        1. Read the Mark Hughes book as well, there’s a lot more analysis in it, including an interesting take on Hungary 2007.

    2. Sush Meerkat
      3rd April 2011, 8:38

      Nic Hamilton is a definate inspiration for overcoming adversity!

      Absolutely, we have another sportsman as well that overcame his cerebral palsy to the point he was kicked out of the paraolympics, we should be chanting his name in the streets.

      http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/olympics/article-1054524/Cerebral-palsy-footballer-kicked-Paralympics–hes-disabled-enough.html

  4. Ok, Kimi does whatever he wants and as long as he’s happy and he’s having fun i don’t want to question his decision, he doesn’t owe anything to anybody.

    But i feel like it’s the saddest thing ever.

    1. I think the main problem is we all know how skilled Kimi is so in my own opinion anyway NASCAR is below him.

    2. I agree with Stefanauss 100%.

    3. I think he has lost motivation in any form of racing. In F1 he was good but the media were pressing him, he enjoyed WRC but he sucked and went away after just one year, now Nascar… I hope he enjoys it and starts winning, otherwise I think he’ll retire.

      1. “Kimi’s Ice-Cream Parlour”, coming to a town near you!!

      2. He didn’t suck and he didn’t go away. Whenever he races he is a candidate for points (if he doesn’t crash). That is sure not where he wants to be, but you have to consider the other guys are doing this for years and decades and he just started out. Maybe he will improve. Also at first its just an occasional thing in Nascar, not fulltime, so I’m sure he will continue driving his Citroen.

        1. He would improve with dedication. Trying it out for a year then looking for something else to do isn’t dedication.

          Good for him if he’s just flitting around and doing what he enjoys. I think we’d all like to be able to just change our jobs on a whim.
          But he’s never going to get to the top of any more disciplines that way.

    4. Here’s something for you, maybe f1 is below him, maybe that’s why he got bored with follow the leader racing. Don’t get me wrong, f1 is my fav. brand of racing, but don’t try to put something down that you don’t understand. You just sound rediculous and make all f1 fans look bad with comments like that.

  5. It costs $14m just to set up the Albert Part track!? And thats before Bernie pockets his massive payout. Would be interesting to see how much is made in ticket sales, I can’t see how there is such a huge loss? Bring it back to Adelaide! I know the V8 boys would hate playing second to the F1 show, but to not have an F1 race in Australia would be a joke! What the Victorian government needs to remember is the thousands of interstate and international visitors the even attracts. Just my partner and I spent over $100 in fuel while in Vic, 2 x $299 grandstand tickets, about $700 on accomodation, and not to mention the shopping and food we purchased while in Melbourne. All up, Victoria got more than just tickets out of us.

    1. Yes Adelaide! A city that would actually embrace the Grand Prix! 500,000 in 1995, repeat, 500,000 in 1995! Just for one year only to see how it goes! Come on F1! They already have the Clipsal 500 every year its not like buildng the track will be anything new…

      1. Years back Melbourne had a better attendance and people spent more money there aswell. Meanwhile its the way it is and I must say 300.000 people on a weekend isn’t so bad and like ivz says, its not just the money spent at the track, people are spending a lot during a race weekend, some even stay for a week. That is a lot of money that comes to the city and I’d welcome it if they could stop crying. We’ve had this discussion so many times, so I don’t want to warm it up again, so either they can make adjustments and save a bit and keep the race (which would be nice) or they don’t, the world won’t stop turning because of that. We will see.

        1. You still have to balance your budget at the end of the day and if money going out is always growing much bigger than the money coming in, then you will be digging yourself into a very deep hole you may never come out of.
          There comes a time when it is no longer cost effective to keep hosting such an event, as it is generally known that Bernie’s fees are forever going up.

      2. Wow, never knew that 500,000 attended the final GP in Adelaide!

    2. Adelaide would need huge ($100m+?) renovations to bring it even close to modern F1 standards. Then it being a street track would cost, what, maybe 14m to set up? Bathurst is in a better position than Adelaide by far, and hosting it there would be ridiculous.

    3. There is something odd going on if they cannot turn a profit off the event when you have the best part of 300,000 people going over the weekend. Even with out Bernie’s fees they would still be making a loss of about 9 million dollars. Maybe part of the problem is that the FOM takes all the trackside advertising money too.

      Having said that Melbourne needs the Grand Prix, and other major events, they are the only thing keeping tourism in the city alive, cause unlike the other capital cities, in my opinion Melbourne doesn’t have all that much else to offer.

      1. Melbourne overall has lots to offer.. we are the sporting capital of the world for 3 of the past 4 or 5 times I think.

        AFL GF, Melbourne International Comedy Festival (3rd biggest comedy fest after mon and edi in the world), Melbourne Cup, Boxing Day test, etc…. and don’t forget the bloody flower and garden shindig.

        Adelaide, Perth, Darwin, Hobart and Brisbane have nothing going for them.

        Sydney do, and Melbourne does. I can’t think of things I’d go to Perth or Darwin to see. Can you please name them?

        Melbourners don’t hate the GP< more than 300k of us turned out despite the ticket prices. it's just we have very loud angry people aswell who are louder than everyone else

        1. Excellent point, Melbourne needs a whole stack of events, such as the Grand Prix to get people to visit the place. Other cities in Australia don’t to the same extent, because there are actually other things to do and see, and more importantly friendly, happy people.

          Also what do you base your argument that Adelaide, Perth, Darwin, Hobart and Brisbane have nothing going for them? Yeah they don’t dingy dark alley ways where moody people like to “dine”, but being real, that isn’t really a fantastic feature.

    4. And they will know it. But it will be next to impossible to quantify all of that…too much of a gamble.

  6. so where did Nick Hamilton come in his first race? anyone got a results page? i know he has another race today (sunday)

    1. A respectable 12th

    2. ok so I found out he survived any crashes and mayhem to bring the car home in 12th place (last) not bad!

      I’m sure we’ll see an improvement in todays race (at 14:45 UK time, should be on ITV4)

      1. I have been sick to death of the ITV coverage today. Steve Rider looked agitated if he hadn’t said Hamilton in between 30 minute intervals. It was 2007/08 all over again.

        1. well he is reporting on a domestic, british championship. i was really happy to see lewis interviewed alongside his brother. great to see a big name at a smaller event.

          1. I didn’t mind seeing Lewis and his brother but it was the emphasis Steve was putting on it that was the problem.

            I was more interested in Jody selling Ice-Creams, that made my day.

  7. I think Kimi’s move to NASCAR will be great. Its good for motorsportand great for that championship. It will be good for his career. Will even look cool if he has BUD painted on his car. Life liberty and the pursuit of the easy life.
    I hope all those who watch this messed up form of racing get to enjoy.
    NASCAR? No my cup of tea.

    1. Not my cup of tea too. :-)

    2. Mine neither, I rahter have coffee ;-)

      Quite fun actually to read how “exited” everyone is in that article about Kimi doing a test.
      I gather Kimi found WRC still a bit too big corporation and pretty tough to earn a buck. A shame really, I would have liked him to get some succes in WRC.

      1. In terms of WRC, I think Kimi realised he wasn’t anywhere near the level of Loeb (Obviously), Ogier and Hirvonen to name the obvious drivers.

        He should look to do GT1 or Le Mans series instead of NASCAR. But oh well his decision, I guess he’s looking for the big payouts..

        1. Agree.

          I think he will face similiar problems with NASCAR. While Raikkonen has skills they are finely tuned into open wheel circuit racing. Not stock cars, nor rally cars, nor dirt, nor snow nor circles.

          If he wanted to do something else, either as you said Le Mans or GT1, or maybe Indy or something like Mansell. Maybe he should join VIllensuve and Prost in Ice racing.

      2. Really? Where did you get that from? Would be interesting to read.

        But yes, rallying is trying to become more popular and that inevitably leads to big money and that leads to corporate involvement. Blah.

  8. As someone who actually attends the Melbourne GP yearly, the event has definitely lost some sparkle. I’m there to see F1 cars, but in the early days the attractions other than the race cars were huge from aerial displays (1 black hawk this yr) to army demonstrations, F1 cars on show, massive marquees and other assorted displays. In the past few years, the event has become more corporate orientated with less for the general spectator to see. It appears not one person from the organization has bothered to try and cut costs or increase the value. Poor management and lack of government assistance has lead to the increase in costs and loss of interest for this event. No need for reminders about what this does for our state or country, just a kick up the behind for Ron Walker and crew to get him off his **** to rectify the issue before it’s too late.

  9. What a beautiful story about Nicholas Hamilton! Really inspiring that he pushed hard against the odds and made it.
    And sad to see that it happens everywhere that disabled people are sometimes allowed to become ‘lazy’, which is an observation I made on several occaisons in my personal life. Some people seem to think you cannot challange someone because he’s disabled. I’d say it’s the opposite!

    1. I liked it as well. Great to see how he got determined and show himself he could do it.

      A very fine example for everyone giving up dreams as they are to hard to acheive. Even if he never wins a championship it wont be for not trying.

  10. So what does this actually mean for Kimi regarding his WRC commitments? Surely his sponsors will have something to say? Fair enough, he may just be trying something new but this is a brilliant way to alienate any fanbase.

    F1 to WRC to Trucks in less than 18 months just seems to lack perseverance.

  11. Lol… in Australia they think 300.000 visitors isn’t enough. At some other races they can only dream of that number of visitors. What is wrong that there is a reasonable thought about cutting this race while those others can be on the calender.

    1. It’s all relative though. Melbourne needs higher numbers than most to justify the cost of upheaval.

  12. Kimi + Truck = the Best DHL Delivery man

    1. best?
      “Uhm here’s your delivery”
      “It looks broken!!”
      “…” shrugs

      1. I should correct it to ‘the fastest’ :D

  13. Happy birthday to JT19.

    1. Aww cheers m8, thanks alot!!

      1. Oh hey Happy Birthday dude.

  14. Good news for anyone here being afraid the engines will sound like a chevvy spark on track come 2013.

    Simulation from a pretty reliable source seems to have them sound different but very nice.

    1. I hope they don’t sound like those chevys. Nonetheless, the engines will still have an abbrevated wail and won’t have the rich notes we enjoy from revving t 18000RPM.

      1. According to that article I linked to they sound like this:

        It was not hard to hear the difference, but the noise for the 2013 engine sounded decent and, in some respects, was better than the old turbos of the 1980s, providing less whistle and a little more buzz. The current engines scream rather more than the next generation, but the noise was actually rather easier on the ears.

        Thans JS.

  15. On a different note, Pedro de la Rosa was evidently allowed to do another test for Pirelli:

    Testing today in wet Istanbul, track is ready for intermediates only. Weather should improve tomorrow. Track temperature cold 12 degrees.

    by tweet from @PedrodelaRosa1

  16. I really don’t see the need to scrutinise every fart from Kimi. He’s an F1 world champion with bags of money and nothing to prove. If he wants to race trucks or planes or sodding camels it’s his choice! Some days i like salt and vinegar, but other days i fancy cheese and onion.

  17. Kimi is still racing WRC this year! Under his own team name ICE1. Trucks is just another card up his sleeve in world domination!

  18. UNeedAFinn2Win
    3rd April 2011, 12:15

    The reason Kimi is going oval racing on such short notice is the 5 Million U$D on offer for the Indycar season closer in Las Vegas…think about it, no oval experience vs. half a dozen weekends (practice,quali,race).

    And besides as pointed out, he can, and will, do whatever he very well wants to, for the rest of his professional career. And he will be welcomed in any discipline he chooses to approach with open arms. And good on him. Now I just have added Daytona to my Kimi bucket list :)
    (Monaco, Indy, LeMans 24, Daytona)

    1. Now that would be exiting, if Kimi could win in Indy!

    2. UNeedAFinn2Win
      3rd April 2011, 19:35

      I actually found more evidence supporting my theory:Kyle Busch says “They were adamant about Charlotte and running that race”.
      Why? Well, take a look at this compared tothis…

  19. Do Ford race the F150 in the NASCAR trucks series?

    How ironic would it be if Kimi ended up driving an F150!!

    1. Apparently they did! But it seems that Kimi will be driving a Toyota.

  20. Kimi’s NASCAR experiment surprises me even more than when Montoya made the switch. At least Montoya had the advantage of already being comfortable in the US, having lived here for quite some time, and also being rehired by his old friend and Indy car team owner Chip Ganassi, with a nice fat salary. I actually halfway expected Kimi’s announcement to be an April Fools joke! As far as I can tell though, he hasn’t yet committed to anything beyond a test and a few truck races, supplying his own financing. It will surprise me even more if he ultimately winds up racing full time in the premier Sprint Cup series. Having to move to the US and compete in 36 races a year (only 2 of them being road courses), wouldn’t seem to be his cup of tea. That said, racers love to race, and maybe it will suit him. I’m betting not, but one never knows. Should be interesting to see how it pans out.

  21. you people really think it is easy to drive a speedway race?

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