KYLE BUSCH, team owner, Kyle Busch Motorsports How did the deal with Kyle Busch Motorsports and Kimi Raikkonen come together? “Agents — that’s how it came about. I have yet to speak to Kimi (Raikkonen) myself. Apparently there’s an interest in him that he wants to run in NASCAR. He’s shopped it around to quite a few teams and apparently we won the war. It’s exciting for us at Kyle Busch Motorsports. Kimi, from what I understand, was real adamant about trying to work with me and our teams and being able to put a deal together to go out there and try to get him success in NASCAR. With our trucks, the way we’ve been running this year, he felt like that was a good place for him to come.”
Will this shine a spotlight on Kyle Busch Motorsports? “That’s not a reason that we do this stuff. We do this stuff because we enjoy racing — we love it and we want to do it. Certainly that is part of it and that would essentially happen, but that’s not one of our first thoughts that we looked at. I think it does lend some worldwide exposure. I think with a guy being as talented and as good as he’s been in the realms of motorsports that he’s competed in — certainly I would like to expect that he runs well here in NASCAR as well. Maybe this could lend to a longer relationship than just a few races.”
Is Kimi Raikkonen bringing sponsorship for the races? “Essentially, yes. I don’t know where the money is coming from — my contract is with Kimi (Raikkonen) himself. However the funds — he’s responsible. I do know that there’s three sponsors involved. I’ll wait for their press releases to see if they announce who they are. There is money backing him.”
How many races does he plan to run with Kyle Busch Motorsports? “I would say we’re talking three to five. Right now it’s only Charlotte — we’ll see how he feels about Charlotte. He did express interest in running up to three or maybe up to five. We’ll just see how it plays out. Right now it’s only one.”
Why was Charlotte chosen for his first race? “It comes down to his schedule. It’s just a matter of logistics for him to come over here. Obviously, he lives overseas and does most of his business overseas with the Rally stuff. It’s a big deal for him to be able to fit it in when he can. Charlotte – – they picked Charlotte for whatever reason. They were adamant about Charlotte and running that race. I don’t know if he feels that he wants a challenge right off the bat, but I think it will be good for him.”
Do you consider Charlotte a tough track to start in NASCAR? “Certainly — definitely. With a Nationwide car or with a Cup car, yes — with a Truck, you’re close to wide open around there. Throughout the run you’re going to have to work on some throttle modulation and some lines — bottom, top and stuff like that. It will be good for him to get his feet wet and I would say if he can run top-20, top-15 in his first Truck race — that will be a success. We’ll try to help him through practice and everything as much as I can anyways.”
Will you have a testing plan setup for him? “Not much testing, no. We’re just going to Gresham (Speedway) — that’s it right now.”
Do you feel that he has any idea what he is in store for in NASCAR? “I don’t know. You hear from race fans sometimes that they’re like, ‘Oh yeah, we can get out there and we can do it.’ I have a little bit more belief in Kimi Raikkonen that he’s got the talent to do it. I’ve seen him race Formula 1
