When NASCAR travels to Circuit of the Americas at the end of the month IMSA driver Jordan Taylor will not be the only “road course wringer” in the race.  Trackhouse Racing announced on March 8 that Formula One driver Kimi Raikkonen will return to NASCAR in the number 91 car and the Project 91 initiative.

This will be the second Cup Series race for the Finnish driver who started at Watkins Glen last summer but was knocked out of the race early after a crash.

Raikkonen will race in the EchoPark Automovie Grand Prix on March 26; joining Trackhouse regulars Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez.

The Project 91 Initiative was created to give racers from other racing formats to try their hand at the NASCAR Cup Series.

Trackhouse Racing founder Justin Marks spoke on Raikkonen and Project 91 saying, “when we announced Kimi last year, I said he was the global superstar I had in mind when we created Project 91.  I think you saw the fan reception across the world, and Kimi’s performance in the car was proof of the concept. Kimi’s following is massive, and it’s great for NASCAR, Trackhouse plus I think Kimi really enjoys our racing.”

The 43 year old Raikkonen has 21 race wins – including a win at COTA – and a championship with Formula One. Along with his Cup Series start last year; Raikkonen has one Xfinity and one Craftsman Truck Series start.

Kimi Raikkonen also spoke on spoke on making a Cup Series start at COTA; saying, “obviously, it’s helpful that I know the track.  Obviously, an F1 car and NASCAR is slightly different how the track feels when you go around it. So I need to remember that there’s slightly less downforce the first time going out of the pits. That side helps for sure, but obviously, like I said, this is a different car. So the track will be completely different in a way as it feels. I have some experience from last year from that race with the car, so we’ll see.”

Trackhouse Racing will be the defending champions at COTA after “The Melon Man” Ross Chastain won the first of his two races last year in only the second year of Trackhouse Racing.  Marks commented on defending the win saying, “as a company, we’ll be coming back with a lot of confidence because we won that race, but also, now we’ve got three cars instead of two.”