Kimi Raikkonen was unsure about a future return to NASCAR after his one-off race ended in retirement.
Having started 27th, the 2007 Formula 1 champion ran as high as P8 in mixed conditions at Watkins Glen before a pit stop under green dropped him down the field.
While back in the pack, Raikkonen would then get caught up in a tangle involving several drivers exiting the Bus Stop at the restart following a caution, pitching his TrackHouse Racing Project 91 car into the barrier.
"I thought I had a good line there, but everybody seemed to come (to) the left," he said explaining the incident. "Unfortunately, I had no time to react."
Unfortunately, our race is over. What a bummer way to end a strong day.
— PROJECT91 (@THProject91) August 21, 2022
pic.twitter.com/MvBS0iDx3I
The Finn was briefly taken to the medical centre for checks and later revealed a small injury he appears to have picked up.
"The first impact, somebody hit the tyre or the wheel directly and the (steering) wheel spun," he said. "There is something wrong with the wrist, but that's how it goes."
Summarising his race before the crash, Raikkonen continued: "I felt more confident all the time and had some good battles and yeah, it's a shame. The car felt like it had a lot of speed in there but that's how it goes sometimes."
As for whether he'd consider another go in NASCAR though, the nonchalant 'Iceman' replied: "We'll see, I don't know."
Regardless of the end result, it was a weekend to remember.
— PROJECT91 (@THProject91) August 22, 2022
Thank you Kimi. pic.twitter.com/9PAujy32W0
His team though was certainly impressed with how quickly the 42-year-old adapted to the challenge.
"He was learning every lap,” TrackHouse Racing crew chief Darian Grubb told NASCAR.com.
"You could see how he was racing those guys, how he was able to learn their styles, where they were fast, where they were slow.
"And he was able to maintain really well with them. So he’s obviously a very quick study.
"The way the strategy scenario was working, I think he was gonna have a good chance to go race hard with the guys.
"He had good tyres and able to race his way up, he was able to make some passes and stuff already. And I think we had a good shot to be up in the top 10, which is what our goals were for the weekend.
"So disappointing end, but he did an amazing job all week preparing for it, coming in and ready to go."
