The NASCAR Cup Series has a field of 40 starting spots for each race; while most races fall a bit short of that number, the street course race at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego is looking to be one of those races with a packed field.

Trackhouse Racing has announced the entry of the Project 91 car with sports car and Formula One racer Kevin Magnussen behind the wheel with Qualcomm Technologies as the sponsor.

Qualcomm will also serve as an official circuit partner for the races.

Magnussen is a 10-year veteran of F1.  The Dane has made 158 starts in F1 races.  He has driven for McLaren, Renault and Haas.

Magnussen has also raced in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition and the NTT IndyCar Series.

Magnussen spoke on the opportunity via a team release saying, “I’m incredibly excited and honored to have the opportunity to compete in NASCAR.  What Justin Marks and Trackhouse have done with Project 91 is unique, to provide drivers from outside of the NASCAR world with a chance to compete at this level. I’m proud to have this opportunity.”

He continued, “I’ve already spent time with the team in North Carolina — meeting everyone, doing the seat fit, going through pit-stop procedures and all the details that come with preparing for a NASCAR weekend. They’re an awesome group of people, incredibly dedicated, and just as excited about this debut as I am. I really can’t wait to get to San Diego and experience it all for the first time.”

The Project 91 car was created to give drivers from other forms of racing to come and drive in NASCAR.

Magnussen will join Trackhouse drivers Ross Chastain, Connor Zilisch, and Shane van Gisbergen.

Trackhouse director of technology Phil Surgen will serve as Magnussen’s crew chief.

Qualcomm will be aiding the Trackhouse drivers with their on track performance via artificial intelligence.

In a press release Trackhouse states,“through the Qualcomm Dragonwing™ AI on-prem appliance, the competition and performance team will gain efficient insights into real-time data, streamlining faster and more strategic in-race decision-making.  he technology will analyze and distribute complex data and radio communications to race engineers at both the track and race shop.”

Noting that NASCAR is far from F1, Magnussen said, “NASCAR, it’s a different animal to a Formula One car after his first experience.  That’s what we’re used to. When you drive in NASCAR, as a Formula One driver, it’s like you’ve never driven a race car before. It’s completely different.”

He added, “everything you know is out of the window. It’s a lot of fun. You’ve got to relearn everything again, and it’s like driving a race car for the first time. It’s awesome.”