The two-day test session took place at the Gresham Motorsports Park half-mile oval track, on Monday and Tuesday, and finished with the Finn having done in excess of 400 laps with his Toyota Tundra racer. According to a statement released by his WRC entry ICE1 Racing, Kimi has been “working with KBM and the Toyota engineers on various chassis adjustments, shock packages, air pressure and trackbar changes” in order to familiarize him with the truck.
Lap times were not of the essence, nor were they disclosed to the media, but Raikkonen did admit having fun at his first ever NASCAR test.
“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,” he said. “It seems like KBM is a top team and I am excited to work with them.”
Kyle Busch Motorsports' manager Rick Ren was enthused with how the test went, admitting that he was surprised by the fast pace showed by the former F1 champion.
“On one hand, I am obviously not surprised at all with the type of experience Kimi has and his championship pedigree. But on the other hand, I am very pleasantly surprised,” said Ren.
As mentioned in previous articles, Raikkonen will make his debut in the NASCAR Truck Series at the N.C. Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway next month, in what will be one of his 3-to-5 outings in the championship this year with KBM. On May 20, he will drive alongside team owner Kyle Busch, while backed by American brand Perky Jerky – confirmed as a sponsor of Raikkonen for his NASCAR foray yesterday.
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