“I Was Going to Faint”: Nascar Newbie Jenson Button’s Terrible Debut Teaches Harsh Lesson as F1 Champ Max Verstappen’s Prediction Comes True

Not often do the worlds of Formula 1 and NASCAR collide. However, whenever they do, it gives racing fans an exciting perspective and a slight measure of comparison. 2009 F1 world champion Jenson Button gave fans across both disciplines a rare opportunity in the cup series. The Brit made his debut in the Stock car racing series for the Cup Series and took on a familiar track. Button went racing on the Circuit of The Americas for the race. However, the familiar track brought on some unfamiliar and even nightmarish feelings during the race for the Brit.

Ever since leaving F1 in 2017, Button has been participating in various racing series across the globe. The Brit hadn’t ventured to NASCAR until now. He drove a NASCAR Next-Gen car for the series’ official entry for the 24-hour Le Mans. However, driving in the Cup Series was a different challenge altogether, which he revealed to the media after the race.

Speaking to the media after the race, Button revealed some details of his nightmarish debut. “It was an emotional rollercoaster… At first, it was terrible… The first stint was really bad. It was embarrassing for me,” he said. “Finished 18th after almost stopping because I had heat exhaustion. I was so close to getting out of the car because I thought I was going to faint. I must’ve drank eight-nine bottles of water during the race.”

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Despite the horrors, the Brit kept going and finished a respectable 18th in the race. Although contact with Kimi Raikkonen did not help. This performance from Button makes Max Verstappen’s prediction about NASCAR being challenging spot on.

Although the Brit was blown away by NASCAR’s Next-Gen Le Mans car which could’ve helped with his debut, it did the opposite. The Le Mans car might’ve done him more bad than good, as he revealed in his comments.

Jenson Button reveals how driving the Le Mans NASCAR car hindered his debut in the Cup series

The Brit drove the Next-Gen car for their entry in Le Mans. However, the car was modified for the prestigious race and did not bear any resemblance to its usual self. This became an obstacle and possibly hindered his progress with a standard NASCAR racing car.

Button explained, “I think in terms of the weight, yes. In terms of everything else, I think it has probably hindered me more than anything else. Because you braked at the three markers everywhere here. And then in a Cup car, you break before the four markers. So certain things are very different. We have traction control in there as well. So somethings have hurt me, somethings have helped me.”

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Help or not, Button has now driven a modified NASCAR car and also tasted the thrill of the Stock car series. Will he continue after almost fainting in the car is a question only the Brit can answer.