Kimi Raikkonen's first appearance on a NASCAR oval has gone ahead, with the former world champion recording a steady 30th position in both morning practice sessions at Charlotte.
The 2007 F1 world champion arrived in the strange world of NASCAR ovals, and ... it was all absolutely fine. There were no reported dramas, no incidents, and while Kimi Raikkonen didn't dazzle the paddock with particularly stunning runs, a consistent 30th position in both session timesheets will do very nicely for the new boy, thank you very much.
Another 30th position would comfortably see Raikkonen into the race if repeated in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series qualifying this afternoon at 4pm ET (9pm BST) at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
At his first NASCAR press conference, Raikkonen was forthright about what he was doing here this weekend: "I wanted to see how it is, how it feels. If I suck, there's no reason to come back. We'll see how it goes." The assembled media were reportedly a little taken aback by the impassive demeanour that F1 fans know well and love from the "Iceman."
Also involved in Friday Truck practice was Raikkonen's team owner, Kyle Busch, who was comfortably in the top ten in both sessions, as was Kimi's fellow F1 alumni Max Papis. Nelson Piquet Jr. was 15th in the early practice before moving up into tenth in the later session.
