F1 champion Kimi Raikkonen has been approved by NASCAR to enter the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 20th.
While the approval was sought for by Raikkonen and given by NASCAR, there is widespread speculation that the team Raikkonen is racing for won’t be ready.
The news came out Tuesday that the 2007 F1 champion who left Formula 1 to compete in the World Rally Series would test out the NASCAR waters with a new team ICE1 Racing.
"I'm really looking forward to get there to familiarize to the world of NASCAR," Raikkonen was quoted in the foreign media Tuesday.
"I have been following it for a long time,” he added. “I know, it's a very tough and open top racing series. I just love the American spirit of racing. It feels just great to get involved with that. Obviously, it will be very challenging and great fun for me."
According to the new team, they will field a truck in the Camping World Truck Series with the intention of eventually moving up into the Nationwide then Sprint Cup Series.
However the team is backed by Foster Gillett who is currently the subject of several lawsuits in NASCAR, most notably with Richard Petty Motorsports and Ray Evernham a former team owner and crew chief.
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