Kimi Raikkonen has paved a new path for F1 drivers to ply their trade across the pond. Raikkonen entering into the NASCAR Cup Series with Justin Marks’ Project 91 car might have just opened a trend that Daniel Ricciardo could jump on the back of to re-ignite his racing career.

It isn’t a secret that Daniel Ricciardo is a massive NASCAR fan. At last year’s US Grand Prix, the Australian took Dale Earnhardt’s Cup Series car out for a spin, too! But would NASCAR welcome the Honey Badger with open arms?

Autosport asked Justin Marks whether or not he had ‘shopping list’ after his recent visit to COTA for the 2022 US Grand Prix. Well, Daniel Ricciardo fans would like to hear what he had to say. He said, “Obviously with Kimi coming and racing with us this year, Trackhouse became something that everybody over there was aware of. It’s sort of creating and developing a couple of relationships there.”

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Ricciardo wasn’t in the mood to shut the doors on a possible NASCAR debut, too. That being said, he isn’t going in with the mindset of carving a proper full-time career in the premier American racing series.

Daniel Ricciardo is definitely open to the idea of racing in NASCAR

It’s probably the most well known secret in the F1 paddock now, but Daniel Ricciardo won’t be on the grid in 2023. That being said, the Australian hasn’t completely shunned the idea of reviving his driving career in another motorsports series.

Speaking about this he said, “A road course or something would be fun, but I’ll walk before I can run.” He went on, “So I think to go into NASCAR, even if it was just a one-off race and to, let’s say, to rub shoulders with so many guys that I’ve watched since I was a kid, I think that would also be a, a similar feeling [to racing with older F1 drivers when he was younger].”

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Daniel Ricciardo has shown an affinity for NASCAR in the past. That being said, can he carve a niche out for himself in the series if he decides to try his hand out in NASCAR?