Jenson Button will make his first appearance in NASCAR in three races, starting in COTA later this month where he will face old rival Kimi Raikkonen. He will be in the #15 Rick Ware Racing Ford Mustang, supported by Stewart-Haas Racing and longtime partner Mobil 1.
Button will be behind the wheel for the first opening road course of the season at COTA before entering the Series’ inaugural Chicago street race in July. He will wrap up the running with a return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in August.
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The announcement of his NASCAR debut came just 24 hours after Raikkonen revealed his return with the Trackhouse Racing team at COTA.
“Two F1 world champions in a NASCAR race. Who would have ever predicted that?” Button told The Associated Press
The 2009 F1 World Champion retired at the end of the 2016 season and has since tried his hand at several different racing series’ such as Super GT, Extreme E, the Nitro Rallycross Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship including the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“A lot of people think I’m crazy for doing this because it’s so different, but that’s why I love the challenge of it.”, he added, “For me, It’s not about how quick the car is, it’s about how close the racing can be.”
Button has been supported by Mobil 1 for much of his career, with the company behind him for 14 of his 15 F1 career wins as well as the Super GT Championship. He floated the idea of giving NASCAR a chance and the existing relationship between Mobil 1 and Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner Tony Stewart brought it to reality.
“We are thrilled to celebrate Jenson Button as he makes his debut in the NASCAR Cup Series and support him on his journey to making one of his racing dreams a reality,” said Rob Shearer on behalf of Mobil 1.
Tony Stewart said: “He’s new to NASCAR, but he’s not new to racing. This is going to be fun for all of us, and we’re very appreciative of Mobil 1 for making it happen.”
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[Featured Image Credit: Williams F1]