Updated:
Mar 10, 2023
Former Formula One world champion Jenson Button has embarked on a new chapter of his career, signing a three-race deal with Nascar.
The British driver won the 2009 F1 title and will later this month make his inaugural line-up in the stock car series on March 26th in Texas, USA.
Button will also race in the Chicago Street Race on July 2nd and compete in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course on August 13th.
Button’s first race will be the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas where he will be behind the wheel of a Mobil 1 Ford Mustang for Rick Ware Racing.
“The most important thing for me is to enjoy it,” said the 43-year-old, who had a 17-year F1 career.
This Nascar adventure won’t be the first new motorsport arena Button has ventured into, winning the 2018 Super GT Championship and competed in the infamous endurance race, the Le Mans 24 Hours race.
“I love that challenge of driving new things, Every time an ex-F1 driver gets in a stock car these days, they struggle initially.
Button added, “It takes a while for them to get up to speed, so I don’t expect to be right at the front straight away. But I’m not just doing it for fun in some one-off.
“I want to be competitive, and I know that to be competitive it’s going to take a bit of time. That’s why doing these three races works very well this season.”
Button will have a familiar face lining up with him at COTA, as another former F1 world champion in Kimi Raikkonen also made the move to Nascar.
Raikkonen has been more confident in his analysis of the upcoming race, “I had a fantastic time in NASCAR,” he said of his previous outing.
“There was a lot to learn in a very short amount of time, but everyone was very helpful, the competition was a big challenge.
“This time I get to race on a track I am familiar with so there won’t be as steep of a learning curve. I want to have fun, but also do as well as we can.”
Button’s schedule is as full as ever now, with these three races coming around his inclusion once again in the 100th anniversary of the Le Mans 24 Hours.
He will be racing a Next-Gen Nascar modified Chevrolet Camaro, collaborated with the Le Mans organisers at the event.
