29-year-old Cam Waters is set to make his NASCAR Cup Series debut this Sunday at the Sonoma Raceway as a part of RFK Racing’s Stage 60 program. A Supercars star from the land down under, he joins Shane van Gisbergen and Will Brown, a fellow newbie, in the premier tier scene. As he prepares to navigate the road course, he has sent out a warning of intent for his competitors.
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A key challenge for Waters will be to embrace the “rubbing is race” concept that is prevalent in American stock car racing. Back in his home, there is a penalty for displaying aggression on the track. In the United States, not only is there no penalty for it but aggression is encouraged. Despite his inexperience in dealing with this hostile atmosphere, Waters is ready to take it head-on.
He said in a recent press conference, “I’m not going to just go and hit people and rub people up the wrong way. That’s not what I’m doing it for. I want to come over here to have some fun and if someone’s getting a bit aggressive with me, you know, I’ll give it back.” He continued acknowledging that being aggressive was something drivers from outside the foray would have to learn when racing in NASCAR.
Waters has the experience of racing in the Craftsman Truck Series. He ran in a couple of races earlier this year for ThorSports racing and found that while drivers did make frequent contact with each other none of them were playing dirty or being unfair. The driver will be in an element a lot similar to the one in Supercars this Sunday with the Next Gen car and the Sonoma Raceway, a road course.
Waters expects to be more comfortable in the Next Gen car than he was in the Ford F-150 truck
The driver has a good chance of bringing in a decent result for RFK Racing this Sunday for he believes that he is close to his comfort zone. Comparing the NASCAR Next Gen car with his ride back in Supercars, he says, “The car seems a lot closer to what we race back home. Probably closer to our old car, the Gen 2 car – we have a new Gen 3 car – but a lot closer to what I race than the truck.”
Debuting on a road course is also something Waters welcomes. He explained in a media availability on Tuesday, “You know, to come over here to do a road course and to drive a car that makes a lot more sense to me and is a lot closer to what I raced back home, is a bonus, to be honest.” Nobody expects Waters to go out and win in his maiden Cup Series start. But none did when Shane van Gisbergen debuted either. Quite possibly, NASCAR has another superstar in the making.
