Tag: raikkonen

Raikkonen moves up the NASCAR ladder with respectable Nationwide Series debut

Filed under: Motorsports

Kimi Raikkonen

Between the Indy 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix – both packed with nail-biting action right to the finish line – there was no lack of excitement for racing fans this Memorial Day weekend. But open wheels weren’t the only ones turning yesterday as NASCAR headed back to its heartland at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. And while the top-tier Sprint Cup was the headline event, our eyes were on the second-step Nationwide Series as Kimi Raikkonen made his next step up the stock-car racing ladder in the Top Gear 300.

Following his solid debut last week in the Camping World truck series, the former F1 champion turned rally driver took the next step up, driving the #87 Toyota Camry fielded by NEMCO Motorsports and prepared by the same Kyle Busch Motorsports with the same Perky Jerky sponsorship from his truck debut.

So how’d he do? Not bad. Not amazing, but not bad, considering this was only his second oval-track race, his second outing in a stock car and the first in the Nationwide Series. Kimi was up to fifteenth for much of the race, running on the lead lap and taking advantage of green-flag restarts to gain position. He struggled, however, with the car’s front-end handling, as well as heat burning his feet inside the cockpit, and dropped down several laps after a series of disadvantageous trips to the pit lane – one for fresh fuel and rubber, one to remove debris from a crash and another to serve a drive-through penalty.

In the end Raikkonen finished 27th out of 43, running but four laps down on the race leaders. Sprint Cup drivers ended up dominating the race, with Matt Kenseth taking the checkered flag. So what’s next for Kimi? Well he’s back in the WRC next month for the Acropolis rally in Greece, but there’s no telling when he might be back Stateside for more NASCAR action. The Sprint Cup road-course race at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California, could give Raikkonen a chance to shine, but his team fears there’s precious little time to put it together with less than a month to go.

Raikkonen moves up the NASCAR ladder with respectable Nationwide Series debut originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 30 May 2011 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Raikkonen makes a solid debut in NASCAR

Filed under: Motorsports, Truck, Racing

Kimi Raikkonen's NACAR debut

Former F1 champion Kimi Raikkonen made his NASCAR debut yesterday, driving the No. 15 Perky Jerky Toyota Tundra in the Camping World Truck Series NC Education Lottery 200.

Starting from the 31st position, Raikkonen finished 15th, crossing the line on the same lap as the race leaders. At one point, Raikkonen ran as high as seventh, but fell back when he missed a crucial pit stop. Along the way, he survived several close calls as multi-car collisions unfolded in front of him and he picked his way through the debris. Raikkonen’s teammate Kyle Busch took the win.

What’s next for Raikkonen? The Finn plans to return to Charlotte next weekend to run the Nationwide Series race. He’ll pilot a Toyota Camry fielded by NEMCO motorsports in partnership with Kyle Busch Motorsports.

The NASCAR race conflicts with the WRC rally in Argentina, but Raikkonen isn’t scheduled to contest that round. His next WRC appearance will be at the Acropolis Rally in June. As for F1, the former champion hasn’t ruled out a possible return if the conditions are right, but for now he appears to be taking things one step at a time.

Raikkonen makes a solid debut in NASCAR originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 22 May 2011 11:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kimi Raikkonen to run limited 2011 schedule for Kyle Busch Motorsports

Filed under: Motorsports, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Celebrities

Kimi Raikkonen

The rumors are true. Former Formula 1 champion Kimi Raikkonen will run a limited schedule in the Camping World Truck Series for Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2011. Raikkonen’s debut is scheduled for May 20 in the N.C Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway as owner Kyle Busch’s teammate.

Raikkonen’s nine-year F1 career saw 18 wins, 62 podium finishes and the 2007 Drivers’ Championship. Since leaving the sport in 2009, Raikkonen has campaigned in World Rally Championship with his own team ICE 1 Racing.

Raikkonen’s debut for KBM will be the first step in what the champ hopes will be a successful transition from open-wheel and rallying to NASCAR, a switch that fellow F1 champ Juan Pablo Montoya made in 2007. Raikkonen’s sponsorship deal hasn’t been revealed yet, but will be announced before the start of the Charlotte race.

[Source: Kyle Busch Motorsports | Image: (C) Gepa Pictures/McKlein/Red Bull Content Pool]

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Kimi Raikkonen to run limited 2011 schedule for Kyle Busch Motorsports originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 02 Apr 2011 14:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Straight to the Finnish line: Kimi Raikkonen wins his first rally

Filed under: Motorsports, Europe, Citroën

Kimi's Raikkonen's rally car

Okay, so it wasn’t a championship-level international stage, but just the same, Kimi Raikkonen has won his first rally. The event in question, called Rallye Vosgien, forms part of the French national series, and was contested by Kimi’s Citroën Junior Team as practice ahead of the WRC Rally of France.

The former F1 world champion and his co-pilot, Kaj Lindstrom, took their Citroën C4 to the finish line over three minutes ahead of the nearest competitor, Quentin Gilbert, driving a Renault Clio Maxi. Given the similar conditions – and that Citroën Junior Team had used up all its allotted test time – Vosgien proved an ideal warm-up to the main event set to take place at the end of the month.

[Source: Autosport | Image: Nikolay Doychinov/AFP/Getty]

Straight to the Finnish line: Kimi Raikkonen wins his first rally originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 19 Sep 2010 17:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Raikkonen reportedly negotiating F1 return with Renault

Filed under: Motorsports, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Renault


Kimi contemplates getting back on the horse after a year’s hiatus

What’s the matter, four world champions on the same grid not enough for you? Well next year could bring even more, if the latest reports pan out.

In addition to world champions Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher duking it out on circuits around the world this season – never mind the prospects for current championship front-runner Mark Webber – reports are now intensifying that 2007 champ Kimi Raikkonen could be back in F1 as soon as next season.

The Finnish driver known as Tom Kazansky “Ice Man” bolted from single-seaters at the end of last season when Ferrari paid him big bucks to vacate his seat for Alonso, shocking the world of motorsports with an impromptu switch to the World Rally Championship instead of driving for an inferior F1 team. Kimi said he’d only return to grand prix racing if and when he could get behind the wheel of a competitive car, preferring to play in the dirt and gravel if not. But based on its performance at this year’s Belgian Grand Prix (scoring a podium and a points finish), Raikkonen now seems convinced that Renault could provide him with such a car, and has approached the team in pursuit of a seat alongside Robert Kubica for next season.

So what’s holding up the deal? Apparently Renault is waiting to see if its current #2 driver Vitaly Petrov can improve his form enough to retain his seat. That’s right: they’d rather have a rookie than a proven world champion. Petrov’s home country of Russia, you see, is a vital market for Renault, and the commercial benefits and potential he brings to the team could be worth more to the French automaker than winning a world championship. Sigh.

[Source: Autosport | Image: Juha Sorri/AFP/Getty]

Raikkonen reportedly negotiating F1 return with Renault originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 14 Sep 2010 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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