NASCAR: Raikkonen could have been in the top ten, but had an accident

Kimi Raikkonen did very well in the NASCAR race at Watkins Glen on Sunday, but unfortunately fell victim to a multi-car incident early in the third stint.

The most annoying part is that Kimi was in the top ten for a significant part of the second segment, then lost several positions after a pit stop, but after the pit stops of the leading drivers. For the Finn, however, it all ended with a departure from the track and a collision with a barrier on lap 46.

It looks like Ross Chastain, Kimi’s teammate from the Trackhouse Racing team, hit the car in front of him on the restart and sent it into a U-turn. It all happened at the Bus Stop chicane; the cars, accelerating, passed it in a very close group, the distances between them were minimal, and the accident led to a kind of chain reaction. Several riders, who tried to avoid a collision with the perpetrators of the incident, have shifted from the track, which only aggravated the situation.

Here’s how Kimi herself commented on what happened after an investigation at the track’s medical center: “Actually, I wasn’t a direct participant in the accident and picked a good trajectory on that bend, but the car in front of me shifted to the left. . Unfortunately, there was no time to respond to this. The very first hit wasn’t strong at all, but then someone hit my car right on the steering wheel and I was sent into a U-turn. This is where it all ended.

During the incident, the controls were damaged and in any case it would have been impossible to continue the race. Also my hand hurts, but everything will pass when I get home.

But I liked everything, everything was new to me, and I had a lot of fun, participated in the race, I flew more and more confident and I had some good duels. I’m sorry I dropped out. I felt the car is capable of great speeds, but sometimes races end like this.

I don’t know if I’m going to race yet, we’ll see.”

We can say that, although Kimi didn’t make it to the finish, his performance made a strong impression on everyone: after starting from 26th position, he gradually moved forward and on some laps he was 9th.

Of the three well-known European riders, only Mike Rockenfeller made it to the finish line, finishing in 30th place. Daniil Kvyat was only 36th and many laps back, but lost time in the pits due to technical problems with the car.

And the race was won by Kyle Larson, a Hedrick Motorsports driver who is 3rd in the standings.