Months before Kyle Busch’s season-long suspension in 2011, Formula 1 World Champion Kimi Räikkönen traded European circuits for a bold NASCAR experiment, bankrolled by an unconventional pay-to-drive deal. The Finnish driver, known for his ice-cool demeanor, tested a Kyle Busch Motorsports truck at Georgia’s Gresham Motorsports Park under tight secrecy, sparking rumors of a stateside career pivot.
Fourteen years later, Räikkönen’s brief but costly NASCAR chapter remains a curious footnote, but it laid the groundwork for his 2022 comeback with Trackhouse Racing, proving even part-time pursuits can reignite a racer’s fire.
Kimi Räikkönen’s Unconventional Truck Series Debut
Räikkönen’s first NASCAR test was shrouded in mystery. No photos were released. No sponsors adorned the truck. Team press manager Andy Gee confirmed only that the Finn drove Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Toyota Tundra on the half-mile oval.
Behind the silence was a unique arrangement: Räikkönen reportedly agreed to pay Busch $100,000 per race to compete in the Camping World Truck Series. Montreal’s Ruefrontenac.com revealed the deal covered three to five races, with Räikkönen aiming to attract sponsors for higher-tier NASCAR series.
“Räikkönen shopped around for a drive with a number of teams, and we won the war,” Busch said after securing the former F1 champion.
There was speculation that Räikkönen would debut his truck with his own ICE 1 Racing team, but this didn’t materialize. To everyone’s surprise, he debuted in the Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series in May 2011. The F1 racer competed for Busch in each series at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
May 28, 2011: Kimi Raikkonen ran in his final NASCAR race, the Nationwide Series race at Charlotte. Raikkonen drove a Kyle Busch car and ran in the top-20 for the first half but fell back to 27th at the finish. pic.twitter.com/GacDTVKfDt
— nascarman (@nascarman_rr) May 28, 2021
The move mirrored Räikkönen’s sponsor-free World Rally Championship efforts at the time. However, limited testing and his quiet persona kept expectations low, leaving fans wondering what might have been. He placed 15th in the Xfinity Series race and 27th in the Truck Series race.
How a Decade-Old Deal With Kyle Busch Fueled a NASCAR Comeback
Räikkönen retired from F1 in 2021 after 19 seasons. Yet by August 2022, the “Iceman” was back, this time in NASCAR’s premier series. Trackhouse Racing’s PROJECT 91 initiative, designed for international drivers, handed him a Next Gen Chevrolet at Watkins Glen.
The connection? Räikkönen’s 2011 Truck Series gamble. Though his initial NASCAR foray lasted just a few races, it showcased his adaptability.
“The team has done a great job, really nice people all around,” Räikkönen said after testing at Virginia International Raceway in 2022. “It’s been fun to be in the car.”
Busch’s $100,000 deal hadn’t delivered immediate success, but it gave Räikkönen a stateside foothold, one he’d revisit when Trackhouse sought a global star. Eleven years after writing checks to race, the 2007 F1 champion found NASCAR teams willing to foot the bill.
Critics questioned Räikkönen’s stock car credentials. Supporters saw a pattern: The Finn rarely chased trends from sponsorless rally cars to self-funded trucks. He simply drove and let the results speak. As NASCAR’s international ambitions grow, that 2011 experiment now looks less like a curiosity and more like a roadmap.