Former Formula 1 champion Jenson Button said he only enjoyed 60 percent of the race at Circuit of the Americas.
The 2009 F1 champion made his Cup Series debut at COTA. He was one of the four drivers coming from a different discipline than NASCAR, which included IMSA champion Jordan Taylor, former Formula One champion Kimi Räikkönen and IndyCar Series regular Conor Daly.
“Two weeks in a row making rookie mistakes, need to be replaced” – Bubba admits he shouldn’t be in Cup racing
Button finished in the 18th position, the highest among the four drivers. While he said the enjoyed the race, Button was critical of the number of crashes in the race. He said:
“I enjoyed the race 60 percent of it. 40 percent of it kind of felt a bit silly. The amount we were hitting each other.
“The revenge is enjoyable, but there are points where it feels we can do better. The action is amazing, don’t get me wrong.”
There were a number of crashes in the race leading to caution, starting from the very first lap when Brad Keselowski spun. Another one came in the lap 12 when Denny Hamlin spun Kyle Larson. The race also had three NASCAR Overtime restarts.
Speaking after the race, Button also revealed that he almost fainted in the race.
“Finished 18th after almost stopping because I had heat exhaustion. It was so hot. I don’t have a fan in my seat, which really didn’t help me too much,” Button said.
“I stopped twice for a minute. They put ice on me, gave me loads of water, and I went back out. I was so close to getting out of the car because I thought I was going to faint. I must have drank eight (or) nine bottles of water during the race. The team kept me calm, and it’s the reason why we got a good result in the end. So, I was happy.”
A lot of people might not like his opinion on the type of racing, but he’s dead on.
By the fifth restart it becomes a free for all and is embarrassing. Show some effort like you’re the best in the world rather than beating and banging for position in a tight corner.
— Jeremy (@Double_Clutch_) March 27, 2023
It was a good debut from the Former F1 champion. He will return to the Cup Series for the inaugural Chicago Street Race on July 2.