Jenson Button’s NASCAR debut seems to have gotten off to a rough start as he revealed an ‘anxious’ moment in his first practice session. Despite being an F1 champion in 2009 and having driven cars in several forms of motorsports, the Briton interestingly revealed that he struggled to start the car.
Button is making his NASCAR debut this weekend at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) with Rick Ware Racing Ford Mustang. In the 50-minute practice session, the 43-year-old completed 13 laps and set the 28th-quickest time out of 39 racers.
While Button’s time was way off the leaders, he did set a faster lap time than 2007 F1 champion Kimi Raikkonen, who is making his second appearance in NASCAR. Raikkonen was 0.505s slower than Button and managed to set only the 32nd quickest time.
Jenson Button reveals he’s enjoying racing in NASCAR
While speaking at a press conference after the practice session (as quoted by autosport.c0m), Jenson Button said that he was both ‘anxious’ and ‘excited’ for his NASCAR debut. Button then shed light on the moment he had during practice by adding, “I forgot how to start the car”.
The 43-year-old explained that he forgot that he had to press a few switches together to start the car. After explaining his nervy start, the Briton highlighted the major differences between F1 and NASCAR.
Legen-wait-for-it-dary. pic.twitter.com/khrvGwcnSG
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) March 25, 2023
Button stated that the first major thing he had to adjust to was the gearbox. The 2009 F1 champion said that while he had used a manual gearbox before, the one used in NASCAR is similar to the one he used during his Formula 3 days all the way back in 1999.
The second major difference, he said, was that in NASCAR, the drivers do not move out of the way even if one of them is on a slow lap and the other is on a quick lap. While the two sports have several key differences, Button highlighted that he is enjoying the learning curve.
Button to take part in three NASCAR races
Jenson Button announced via his social media handle that he will compete in three NASCAR races with Rick Ware Racing and will use the number 15. After finishing the Circuit of the Americas race this weekend, he will also race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Chicago Street Course.
Thank you for this opportunity @mobil1racing also thanks to Stewart Haas racing & @RickWareRacing for turning this around so quickly. let the challenge begin!#mobil1 #thejourneyisthereward #nascar #cupseries #15 pic.twitter.com/bzC2m0NPAj
— Jenson Button (@JensonButton) March 10, 2023
He explained in the video that he wanted to try his hand at NASCAR because he loves racing and wanted a new challenge. Button concluded his remarks by making it clear that he was not just competing to make up the numbers but that he wanted to be competitive.
