Jenson Button will be adding another top-flight racing category to his extensive resume, as he has announced that he will compete in three races throughout the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series calendar.
The former Formula One driver will drive the No. 15 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang fielded by Rick Ware Racing, and supported by Stewart-Haas Racing. He will make his Cup Series debut on March 26 at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
“I am 100 percent in. I’m not just doing it for fun in some one-off,” said Button, in a release. “I want to be competitive, and I know that to be competitive, it’s going to take a bit of time. That’s why doing these three races works very well this season.”
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Over the course of nearly 20 years in F1, Button started 306 races, won a total of 15 Grands Prix, and took the 2009 driver’s championship title. He retired from full-time F1 racing in 2016 but returned to race the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix, filling in for his friend Fernando Alonso.
Since then, he has competed in Japan’s Super GT series, in the World Endurance Championship, at Le Mans, as well as in off-road racing at the Baja 1000. He says that his natural curiosity is what led him to compete in those series and to take on this challenge.
“Stepping away from F1 gave me the opportunity to try different series that excited me,” Button said. “You put yourself in a slightly vulnerable position because it’s not your complete skill set, and there’s still more to learn to be as good as the best. I love that challenge of driving new things. It’s slightly out of my comfort zone, and I found that out with off-road trucks.”
Button isn’t coming into NASCAR completely green, though. He is part of the Garage 56 project that plans to run a modified Chevrolet Camaro Nascar racer at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year. He admits, though, that his first lap in that car made him ask, “What have I done?” because of the lack of downforce. He got used to the car quickly, though, and felt that old excitement again.
“A Cup car has a lot less downforce and is a lot heavier, but the Garage 56 car has given me an idea of what it will be like along with a direction, which is really useful,” said Button. “I know in my first race I’m not expected to be qualifying right at the front and I’m not expected to be fighting for a victory. I have a lot of respect for the drivers racing in the Cup Series.”
Following his first race in March, Button will also compete at the inaugural NASCAR Chicago Street Race on July 2 and will round out his three-race run at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course on August 13.
