Who knew that Tom Cruise would have such an impact on a nine-year old Jenson Button? Little did we know that the kid from Frome in Somerset, who was just beginning to tear up the kart tracks of the UK and then onwards to Formula 1 stardom, was so in awe of Cole Trickle and his somewhat unorthodox journey to winning a fictitious version of the Daytona 500 for Harry Hogge…
“Where I grew up we had four channels on TV, so we didn’t have any NASCAR racing coverage,” says Button. “So, the first NASCAR race I ever watched was Days of Thunder!
“I was like ‘this is so cool’. I was nine at the time, watching with my dad. To get the chance to live out that dream, it’s really cool.”
Thursday’s announcement that Button will run three road course races was revealed in a somewhat Hollywood way, with him appearing on FOX’s RaceHub show, joining host Kaitlyn Vincie, former NASCAR team owner Andy Petree and Daytona 500 winner Jamie McMurray to discuss his new deal.
Of course, Button is also involved as a driver in NASCAR’s Garage 56 programme, which takes a Chevrolet Camaro to this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours, but his chance to race in Cup – in a Rick Ware Racing Ford Mustang – is nothing more than a happy coincidence for the now Californian-domiciled 43-year-old.
“I’m excited and very nervous at the same time,” says Button. “It’s so different. I’ve seen so many drivers from background in Formula 1 getting into a stock car, a Cup car, and it’s really difficult. And you don’t get much practice either.
“I’m up for a challenge, I’ve got the utmost respect for the drivers and teams I’ll be racing against. It’s staggering the attention to detail they go to, to be competitive. It’s going to take a bit of time; patience will be key while I’m learning. Not to overdrive it and get frustrated, that’s the thing.”
Button’s preparation is in full swing right now, with the COTA race just a couple of weeks away. He got some sly stock car track time in advance with the Garage 56 car – “it is a lot different [to a Cup car] – otherwise they wouldn’t let me test,” he quickly points out – and was delighted to find that NASCAR has extended its practice session in Austin to 50 minutes rather than 15. But what does he expect from his debut?
“I’ve watched the races over and over again, especially on the road course races, to get an understanding of the different styles,” he says. “There’s a lot of rubbing and tapping and all sorts – it’s very physical.
“It’s such a challenge and it’s so exciting for me, I know the level in the Cup Series is staggeringly good. I’ve been watching a lot, to understand the racecraft. And it’s about understanding each individual driver as well, and how they drive the car. Some are more aggressive than others.”
The three tracks have been picked with Button’s road-racing expertise in mind – although you won’t see him at Watkins Glen, because the small RWR squad can’t turn around the car quickly enough from the previous race. But its means match his expectations; this deal is all about learning rather than winning – for now, at least.
“Starting at COTA, I love the track and I’ve raced there in F1,” says Button. “It’s great to start there, and because I know it I just have to learn the way of racing. It does kinda feel like a different track, because an F1 car is 40-seconds a lap quicker!
"When this opportunity arose, I called Jimmie and said, ‘should I do it?’ And he said, ‘mate, you’ll have a blast’. So that’s why I’m in! If Jimmie thinks it’ll be fun, it’ll be fun" Jenson Button
“Indy, I know half the track, because we raced there in F1. Chicago is new to everyone and racing a car that weighs 3500lbs, on a street circuit, that wouldn’t be the best first race for me! It’s going to be a great spectacle; it’s tough racing on a street circuit.”
Since retiring from fulltime Formula 1 at the end of 2016, Button has raced in Japan in Super GT and dabbled in LMP1 sportscar prototypes, rallycross and even done some off-road racing.
“In F1 I got to a point where I wasn’t learning anything new,” he reflects of his career. “I wanted to try different things – I think of myself as a racing driver, not just an F1 driver. I raced in Japan, which was super-competitive, I raced at Le Mans, I’ve done some Trophy Truck racing, the Baja 1000, and a few other things.
“I knew I’d love to try a stock car, and I watched it for decades with my dad, we used to sit down and watch it, and I loved Dale Earnhardt, and obviously Tony [Stewart], Jeff [Gordon] and Jimmie [Johnson, his Garage 56 team-mate].
“It reminds me of my karting days, where the competition is so close. In F1, you make an overtaking move and it’s like ‘wow, someone overtook!’ [Jenson punches the air for comic effect] And that’s what makes F1 exciting, because it’s so difficult to overtake. But in NASCAR, it’s just like all-action, you go through corners side by side where you just don’t think it’s possible. Turn 3 in COTA should never be side by side, but they are all the way through [the Esses].
“F1 is a fantastic series, but it’s not as family orientated as NASCAR is. I love that about NASCAR – watching the Daytona 500 build-up, I was on a flight, and it was a three-hour build-up, and I saw every driver with their families on the grid. It’s so cool, I really like that.”
As we saw when Kimi Raikkonen raced for Trackhouse’s Project 91 squad at Watkins Glen last year, with his wife and kids hanging around at pits, NASCAR’s relaxed and family-friendly atmosphere will be a refreshing blast of fresh air after F1’s suffocating atmosphere.
“It was great to see Kimi race [at Watkins Glen] and to hear he’s coming back at the same race as me, so I’m going be head-to-head with him again,” smiles Jenson. “When you see people like Kimi jump in, or [sportscar ace] Joey Hand, you see how competitive this series is. And I think that just increases the interest in the sport.
“We all know how difficult it is to shift from a high-downforce single-seater to a stock car, and vice versa as Jimmie has shown in the last couple of years. When this opportunity arose, I called Jimmie and said, ‘should I do it?’ And he said, ‘mate, you’ll have a blast’. So that’s why I’m in! If Jimmie thinks it’ll be fun, it’ll be fun.”
And there’s not long to wait, as Jenson will hit the track for practice in Austin in just two weeks’ time, when he’ll finally get to drop the hammer on his new NASCAR career.
