Kimi Räikkönen put on a show in NASCAR

Although he did not see the finish, Kimi Räikkönen ignited a race that began under a veritable deluge.

For the first time in the history of the discipline, 7 nationalities were represented at the start of this round at Watkins Glen. In addition to the American contingent and the Mexican Daniel Suarez, regular driver for Trackhouse Racing, 5 European drivers came to compete on this formidable road course. Daniil Kvyat for Russia, Mike Rockenfeller for Germany, Loris Hezemans for the Netherlands, Kyle Tilley for the United Kingdom and of course the undisputed star of the meeting, Kimi Räikkönen for Finland. Iceman thus placed one foot on a path of the F1 to the NASCAR borrowed before him by illustrious champions such as Mario Andretti, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jacques Villeneuve and… Jim Clark for a single appearance in 1967.

Kimi Räikkönen © Chris Graythen/Getty Images

With the experience of 349 Grand Prix starts, 21 victories and 1 Formula 1 World Champion title, Räikkönen had nothing to fear from the wet asphalt at the start of the race. With a victory in 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2010 and a title DTM in 2013, Mike Rockenfeller was certainly no less well armed than the Finn. Concerning Kvyat, if his talent behind the wheel is without doubt, his difficulties in understanding the discipline left little hope of seeing him shine.

Kimi Räikkönen © Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Starting 27th, Iceman was already in 23rd place at the end of the first lap before moving up to 15th in the wake of Rockenfeller. After having successfully negotiated the switch to slick tires, Kimi finally completed the first segment in 19th place.

From the start of the second segment, Räikkönen placed his Chevrolet Camaro in the Top 10 for the first time, where he remained without difficulty. 3 laps from the end of the section, Kimi seemed to get caught up in the game, and having nothing to lose even bet on an early stop.

Kimi Räikkönen © Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Unfortunately, the restart was to be fatal to the Finn involved in a bad sequence which threw him into the protective barriers and put an end to his great race.

Kimi Räikkönen's day is over at @WGI after this incident on Lap 46. pic.twitter.com/TwfEBjlrRQ

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 21

Without in any way devaluing the talent of the discipline's regular drivers, Räikkönen's performance brought a breath of fresh air to the discipline. If his abandonment leaves a terrible feeling of frustration, this quickly gives way to the desire to see Kimi again as quickly as possible at the start of a Cup Series round. Let's hope that Iceman will be tempted by this challenge that matches his talent. Justin Marks, the flamboyant boss of Trackhouse Racing behind Project 91 which brought Räikkönen onto the grid, will certainly be keen to convince her.

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