Button: There’s a lot to learn in NASCAR

Jenson Button is set to make his NASCAR debut this weekend in Austin and the 2009 World Champion is now so overwhelmed with emotion that he didn’t get out on track right away during practice.

“I forgot how to start the car, and it was an interesting moment! – quotes the words of Jenson publication Racer. – Therefore, the car had to be pushed back into the pits and I already thought that it would not start. And all I had to do was move a few more switches to the top position, so everything worked.

In NASCAR, there is only one practice before qualifying, and Button is lucky that it has been extended to 50 minutes as the American Touring Car Series teams compete on a road-type track under modified rules for the first time this season.

Jenson showed the 28th fastest time, after which he said: “I went to the track and was surprised how low the grip level was on cold tyres. But gradually I adapted. I have never driven a car with a sequential gearbox, these are completely new skills that have yet to be learned. I’ve driven manual cars, but the last time was probably in 1999.

I constantly have to refer to the information I’ve collected over the years and remember something. But I manage to do it quickly, so everything is fine, I enjoyed it.

All my life I have driven a car, so I am able to show competitive speed. But there is another side – I have no experience (performances in NASCAR), and here six cars enter the 1st turn at the same time and push at the same time. As far as I noticed during training, no one swerves here, even if you drive slowly, and at that moment you are on a fast lap.

In general, there is a lot to learn, because this sport is very different from anything I am used to. But I’m ready to take on the challenge.”

The race at Texas Motor Speedway will be the first of three Button will have to drive this year at the wheel of Rick Ware Racing’s No. 15 Ford Mustang, with Chicago in July and Indianapolis in August.