NASCAR: The next Trackhouse driver has a rare opportunity

Trackhouse Racing Team have taken the NASCAR Cup Series by storm, and their next driver has a chance to add to that success in a big way.

Saying that the next powerhouse arrived when Justin Marks founded Trackhouse Racing Team ahead of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season would have been one of the sport’s hotter takes. But the vision of the 41-year-old has quickly turned into a reality.

Both of his drivers, newcomer Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez, have earned their first career victories this season, with the former winning twice and securing a ticket to the playoffs. Already, Marks’ team has made their mark at NASCAR’s top level. But they aren’t stopping here.

They recently announced PROJECT91, a third part-time car (#91 Chevrolet) for international drivers to showcase their talent in the Cup Series.

Following this announcement, 2007 Formula 1 world champion Kimi Raikkonen was confirmed as the driver of the #91 Chevrolet for its lone 2022 appearance in the August race at Watkins Glen International.

Despite having not yet made his Cup Series debut, Raikkonen is poised for success at Trackhouse.

Raikkonen isn’t a stranger to NASCAR, having competed in the Xfinity Series (then Nationwide Series) and the Truck Series for Kyle Busch Motorsports at the Charlotte Motor Speedway oval in 2011. He finished in 27th and 15th place, respectively.

Additionally, Raikkonen has competed at and won on a plethora of road and street courses in his Formula 1 career, tracks which consist of various turns and lengths and should help ease his transition to the eight-turn, 2.454-mile (3.949-kilometer) Watkins Glen International road course in Watkins Glen, New York.

The most notable stat, however, is that both Trackhouse Racing Team drivers earned their first Cup Series wins in the season’s first two road course races.

Raikkonen could make it all three.

In the season’s first road course race at Circuit of the Americas, it was Chastain who took the checkered flag, and in the second road course race at Sonoma Raceway, it was Suarez.

For a team in only their second season of Cup Series competition, Trackhouse Racing Team certainly seem to know how to perfect a setup when it comes to road course racing.

“The Iceman” is poised to be the next driver to reap the benefits of this young team’s road course success. Will it be enough for him to secure his first career Cup win in the same manner as his teammates?