For this NASCAR race at COTA, there are pace cars and then there are the F1 ringers

Kimi Raikkonen and Jenson Button know their way around every nook and cranny of Circuit of the Americas.

The Formula One world champs took on the Austin road course annually in the U.S. Grand Prix. The trick this weekend is for the two 43-year-old F1 alums to navigate the 20 turns alongside the best drivers of NASCAR in Sunday's EchoPark Automotive Texas Grand Prix.

Quite the difference: F1 in its ultra-sleek, open-wheel, 1,759-pound feathery rockets and NASCAR in its 3,300-pound beasts that are built to beat and bang.

Button, born in England and now residing in California, signed a three-race deal to drive the No. 15 Ford Mustang for Rick Ware Racing as part of its Garage 56 initiative. Raikkonen, the popular Fin, will pilot the No. 91 Chevrolet Camaro for Trackhouse Racing in its Project91 program.

"Growing up in the UK, we had four TV channels in the late ’80s, so I didn't get to see anything outside Europe," said Button, the 2009 F1 champ. "Actually, it was 'Days of Thunder' that brought me to NASCAR. I was 8 years old and thought it was amazing, insane, crazy — worlds apart from European motorsport. I've been watching NASCAR for a couple decades now."

Getting to know NASCAR, but not COTA

Their first chance to test COTA in stock cars came in Friday afternoon's practice, preceding Saturday morning qualifying and Sunday afternoon's Cup race.

"Obviously, it's helpful I know the track," said Raikkonen, who won the 2018 USGP at COTA for Ferrari and last raced here in 2021. "Now, the F1 car and NASCAR Cup car are slightly different in how they feel when you go around it. I need to remember there's a lot less downforce. The speeds are slower, but the traffic is thicker."

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Button, now part of ESPN's Sky Sports F1 broadcasts, said the contrasts make it appealing.

"This will be like nothing I've done before," he said. "The stock cars are a lot slower, but they're side-by-side through turns 3 and 4 and lots of other places. It is so bunched up in NASCAR. All that rubbing and tapping, it's going to be exciting. And a totally new experience.

"I watched last year's NASCAR race at COTA probably 20 times to get an understanding where to put the car and the different styles of driving, who's more aggressive and who might give you a break. The city is fun, too. I'm bringing my wife and two kids."

F1 vets not expected to contend this week

Button is making his stock car debut, but Raikkonen got a taste at Watkins Glen last summer, climbing as high as eighth before crashing out.

"We got caught up in a wreck, but that's part of racing," the 2007 F1 world champ said. "At least I have an idea how to approach this weekend. Is the car going to give us a better result? I don't know, I hope so."

His part-time Trackhouse team is topped by crew chief Darian Grubb, who helped Tony Stewart to a Cup Series title in 2011.

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The former F1 stars are not expected to contend, although Raikkonen has midtier 40-1 odds at sports books. Button is in a pack at 100-1.

NASCAR has always had road course ringers, though seldom from F1. It traditionally had only two such events; this year it's all the way up to six, with the Texas Grand Prix the first. It's been 50 years since a road course ringer won a Cup race — Mark Donohue in 1973 in a Penske Racing AMC Matador at Riverside, Calif. Last year Jacques Villeneuve finished 22nd in the Daytona 500.

NASCAR drivers welcome F1ers with open arms, roads

The NASCAR regulars seem to be welcoming.

"I grew up in a town of 3,000 people, so I never thought in a million years I'd one day race against two F1 champs," said Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 1 Ford for Stewart-Haas. "Last year I did a driver swap with (F1's) Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen. They ran some laps at the (Charlotte) Roval. They were within a second of what I was running at pretty much 100%."

Daniel Suarez, the Monterrey, Mexico, native in the No. 99 for Trackhouse, was impressed by Raikkonen at Watkins Glen. "You can certainly see his talent," Suarez said. "He picked up NASCAR racing so quickly. It will be interesting to see how he does on a track where he has won in F1. I think he will be very quick."

Said two-time Cup Series title-holder Kyle Busch: "This is a way to grow our sport and see what these guys bring to the table. It adds another dimension to the race weekend."

Button can envision NASCAR gaining some traction with overseas drivers and fans once they're exposed.

"The racing is proper cool to watch," he said, "and it's more appealing now with additional road courses, not just ovals. Garage 56 is bringing a NASCAR-style entry to Le Mans. There is such a wonderful sound from that V8 (engine), that's what will blow everyone away. I think things like this weekend and Le Mans will bring more international interest to NASCAR. It is a pretty special spectacle."

NASCAR at COTA

Through Sunday, Circuit of the Americas; tickets — weekend general admission passes start at $99, weekend grandstand seats start at $125, individual Saturday $75-$90, individual Sunday $90-$185, kids 12 and under free Saturday

Saturday — Cup Series qualifying 10:30 a.m., XPEL 225 Craftsman Series truck race 12:30 p.m. (FS1), Xfinity Pit Boss 250 4 p.m. (FS1)

Sunday — EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix Cup Series race 2:30 p.m. (Fox)

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: NASCAR race at COTA will include two veteran Formula One drivers