NASCAR Legend Mark Martin Breaks His Silence on Ex-Red Bull F1 Driver’s Cup Series Debut at Chaotic Indianapolis Race

At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, former F1 driver Daniil Kvyat made his NASCAR Cup debut. Sadly for the Russian driver, it ended prematurely when a technical issue forced him to retire after 60 laps. Despite the painfully short stint, his performance still managed to catch the eye of former NASCAR driver Mark Martin.

The former Roush Fenway Racing driver admitted that he was impressed with the Russian driver. He acknowledged that the former Red Bull F1 driver did well in the stock car, especially considering his background.

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This was because Kvyat would have been used to driving open-wheel cars which were a lot lighter than stock cars.

Who is Daniil Kvyat, the man who Mark Martin admired?

The Russian driver made his F1 debut back in 2014, after spending the previous year as a test driver. After a year with the team, he was promoted to Red Bull in place of the Ferrari-bound Sebastian Vettel. Things were looking up for him until four races into the 2016 campaign when he was dropped for the up-and-coming starlet, Max Verstappen.

As a result, he went back to Toro Rosso for the remainder of the season. For 2017, 2019, and 2020 seasons, he remained with Toro Rosso, later renamed to AlphaTauri.

After the Indianapolis race, the former Red Bull driver is hoping to run the final two road courses to gain more experience. He also confessed that he was open to possibly competing on a full-time basis.

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However, for that to happen, he needs to familiarize himself with oval racing, as that is a different kettle of fish.