Kevin Magnussen will pilot Trackhouse Racing‘s Venture 91 entry at Naval Base Coronado in his NASCAR Cup Collection debut on June 21, the group introduced Wednesday morning.
Magnussen, a 10-year veteran of Formulation One and a famous sports-car racer, will drive the No. 91 Qualcomm Applied sciences Chevrolet in NASCAR‘s inaugural race on an lively United States army base as Qualcomm will function the Official Circuit Associate of NASCAR San Diego race weekend.
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A local of Denmark, Magnussen made 185 profession begins in F1 from 2014 by 2024, competing for McLaren, Renault and Haas all through his time within the sport, incomes a career-best second-place end in his debut at Melbourne within the 2014 Australian Grand Prix for McLaren. In a transfer to sports activities automobiles in 2021, Magnussen received the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competitors for Chip Ganassi Racing at Belle Isle alongside co-driver Renger van der Zande. He additionally made one NTT IndyCar Collection begin in 2021 at Street America earlier than rejoining F1 from 2022 by 2024.
In an already various profession, Magnussen will now add stock-car racing to an already spectacular resume.
“I‘m extremely excited and honored to have the chance to compete in NASCAR,” Magnussen mentioned in a group launch. “What Justin Marks and Trackhouse have finished with Venture 91 is exclusive, to supply drivers from outdoors of the NASCAR world with an opportunity to compete at this degree. I‘m proud to have this chance.
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“I‘ve already frolicked with the group in North Carolina — assembly everybody, doing the seat match, going by pit-stop procedures and all the main points that include getting ready for a NASCAR weekend. They‘re an superior group of individuals, extremely devoted, and simply as enthusiastic about this debut as I’m. I actually can‘t wait to get to San Diego and expertise all of it for the primary time.”
Magnussen could have three teammates on observe on the San Diego road course, becoming a member of full-time rivals Ross Chastain, Connor Zilisch and Venture 91 alum Shane van Gisbergen on observe. Phil Surgen, the group’s director of know-how, will function Magnussen’s crew chief on the No. 91 automobile. Surgen beforehand served as crew chief for 5 years alongside Chastain. As a part of the group’s partnership with Qualcomm, Trackhouse notes in its press launch that the know-how firm will support the four-car group‘s on-track efficiency with synthetic intelligence.
“By means of the Qualcomm Dragonwing™ AI on-prem equipment, the competitors and efficiency group will achieve environment friendly insights into real-time knowledge, streamlining quicker and extra strategic in-race decision-making,” the discharge states. “The know-how will analyze and distribute complicated knowledge and radio communications to race engineers at each the observe and race store.”
Whereas the 33-year-old has by no means competed in NASCAR, the Danish driver has gotten behind the wheel of a NASCAR inventory automobile earlier than. His time as a competitor for Haas F1 Crew led to a NASCAR crossover in 2022, when he and then-teammate Mick Schumacher traveled to Charlotte Motor Speedway, driving shotgun with Chase Briscoe across the observe‘s Roval in a Gen 6 Cup automobile earlier than ripping laps of their very own.
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“NASCAR, it‘s a distinct animal to a Formulation One automobile,” after his first expertise. “That‘s what we‘re used to. While you drive in NASCAR, as a Formulation One driver, it‘s such as you‘ve by no means pushed a race automobile earlier than. It‘s fully completely different.
“All the things you recognize is out of the window. It‘s lots of enjoyable. You‘ve acquired to relearn all the pieces once more and it‘s like driving a race automobile for the primary time. It‘s superior.”
Briscoe watched because the duo caught on rapidly, noting lap instances have been solely “three or 4 seconds off” in solely a handful of laps.
“I believe in the event that they ever wished to come back strive it, they‘d positively be aggressive,” Briscoe mentioned.
Preview of the No. 91 Qualcomm Chevrolet Kevin Magnussen will drive in NASCAR at San Diego.
Magnussen will get his first respectable likelihood when NASCAR travels to Coronado for its personal second of historical past.
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Trackhouse fields its program with the intent of increasing Trackhouse Racing‘s international attain by fielding an Open entry within the Cup Collection for famend worldwide racing drivers, an effort led by group proprietor Justin Marks that has hit the observe 5 instances for the reason that program‘s inception in 2022. Magnussen’s look marks the primary for Trackhouse Racing‘s Venture 91 entry for the reason that 2025 Daytona 500, when four-time Indianapolis 500 champion made his NASCAR debut.
“I‘m thrilled to have the ability to carry again Venture 91 once more this yr, particularly at San Diego,” mentioned Marks. “We have been ready for the proper alternative with the proper associate and driver to carry this Venture 91 entry to fruition. Qualcomm is a worldwide model, and Kevin Magnussen is a world driver, and each are components we search for in the case of operating Venture 91.”
, the 2007 Formulation One World Champion, served because the group‘s proof of idea when he debuted at Watkins Glen Worldwide in 2022, in the end making two Cup begins for the group.
This system exploded on the scene, although, because of three-time Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen, when his NASCAR debut culminated in a in July 2023 in NASCAR‘s inaugural race on the Chicago Road Course. The New Zealander made yet one more Venture 91 begin that yr for Trackhouse however in the end springboarded a full profession shift to NASCAR, with SVG now within the midst of his second full-time season and sitting twelfth within the present .
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Magnussen will make Venture 91‘s sixth begin within the Anduril 250 at Naval Base Coronado on Sunday, June 21 (4 p.m. ET, Prime Video, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
