Daniil Kvyat returns to racing after a year away, makes NASCAR debut: 'We're going finally'
INDIANAPOLIS — Daniil Kvyat was in an unfamiliar world at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday.
The Russian Formula One veteran was making his NASCAR debut, and, due to FIA restrictions stemming from Russia’s war with Ukraine, driving competitively for the first time since December of 2020.
But as he started the engine of the Team Hezeberg No. 26 Toyota, he took a moment to enjoy being back behind the wheel, regardless of circumstances.
“It was long,” he said. “I was very excited to get in the car here. When the car started today, finally, in free practice, I was like, ‘Yes, we’re going finally. We’re going racing.’”
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After his practice laps, Kvyat qualified in 36th position for the Verizon 200 on the IMS road course, in which he finished 36th the next day while dealing with car issues throughout the race. He completed 43 laps. The experience, and feeling of finally driving again, sparked Kvyat’s interest in NASCAR events in the future.
The whole process was relatively condensed. Kvyat had a late start in practice because of an issue with the car, and qualifying was only 15 minutes, barely enough time to get used to a kind of car he had little experience driving, but had always intrigued him.
“These are two opposite worlds,” he said of Formula One and NASCAR. “They way the cars drive, how you need to drive them, they’re complete opposites, like day and night. They’re both really great fun in different ways, but the guys here, they do this kind of racing since they are 7 years old, 8 years old, so I just came to completely new territory.”
Even down time off the track was a change. Kvyat noticed how much more relaxed the atmosphere was around NASCAR drivers than in F1. During down time, drivers walked over to others’ garages to talk. That rarely happened in Europe.
Kvyat plans to run one or two more NASCAR races this summer, but he would consider racing a full season as soon as next year if everything lined up right. He would need sponsors, which he is working on obtaining, despite the process being different from F1.
Beyond the logistical obstacles, there’s the matter of Kvyat’s own standards. He’s not interested in racing just for the sake of racing. He only wants to do it if he can hold his own. His Formula One career was far from dominant — he didn’t record a win in six years in the series — but with three podiums and 44 points, he was reliably competitive. That’s what he’s looking for in NASCAR.
To get to that level, he needs to get better at racing on ovals. While the car is different, the setting and course this weekend at IMS is similar to what he’s used to. In a full season he won’t be able to stick to road courses, and he’ll have to adjust to another change from Formula One.
“It means me being in the right place, getting the right experience, having (a) very competitive car also because it’s important here, so all factors have to be together,” he said.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: NASCAR: Daniil Kvyat makes debut at Verizon 200 and IMS
