5 Times Kamui Kobayashi Proved Worthy of Michael Jordan’s Attention

This weekend, Kamui Kobayashi will make his official NASCAR Cup Series debut with Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin’s team. The Japanese driver is only the second from his nation to compete in the NASCAR Cup Series. Before him was Hideo Fukuyama, who raced between 2002 and 2003, with a best finish of 33rd at Las Vegas in 2003.

The former F1 driver will race for 23XI Racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Admittedly, he has never raced at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, not even in Formula One. So this will be a bit of a learning curve for the Japanese driver. Aside from his F1 accolades, Kobayashi boasts of being a multiple-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner. However, one does have to wonder what convinced Michael Jordan to recruit the Banzai warrior.

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5 times the No. 67 has proved his worth to Micheal Jordan and Denny Hamlin

1. LEEROY JENKINS!!!

The Japanese star is best known for his Formula One stint, and he was one to watch out for. Especially during wet races, he was an absolute demon. During his final Formula One race at the Interlagos Circuit, the heavens opened. When that happened, it was like a switch had been flipped, and Kobayashi came alive.

On the wet surface, he dueled with none other than Fernando Alonso, who was driving for Ferrari at the time. While exiting the corner, Alonso got out of shape, and Kobayashi smelled blood. He lined up and immediately dived down the inside of the corner to snatch the position.

2. Two in one corner

In the same year, at the British Grand Prix, he was at it once again. This time, he was battling with Jenson Button and Romain Grosjean for the position. On exiting the corner, Grosjean ran wide, which allowed Button to get alongside him. However, Kobayashi was right behind the duo and liked his chances. They went three-wide into the corner with the Sauber driver on the outside. The button got squeezed out, and Grosjean fell victim to the next corner.

3. Fast and Furious: Suzuka Drift Starring Kamui Kobayashi

Back in 2010, Kobayashi redefined the word kamikaze at the Japanese Grand Prix. This was a race on home soil, so it demanded an extra special performance for the fans. During the race, he was battling with the Toro Rosso of Jaimie Alguersuari for the position. While heading towards the hairpin, the Japanese driver dive-bombed the Spaniard. Admittedly, he lost a bit of control and oversteered a bit. In the process, he practically drifted, though he did unintentionally use Alguersuari as an impromptu brake.

4. His take on Red Bull

In today’s day and age, overtaking a Red Bull is almost impossible unless it’s right at the start. However, back in that 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix race, the Red Bulls were not as dominant as they are now. Make no mistake, at the hands of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, it was still a force to be reckoned with. Though nobody told Sauber driver Kamui Kobayashi that, the plucky Japanese driver took his chances. When a safety car period ended, he got alongside both Red Bulls on the restart and overtook both of them.

4. Showed off his prowess away from Formula One

Since leaving Formula One, he has been plying his trade in endurance racing. To be precise, he is competing in the World Endurance Championship. This means that he had plenty of opportunities to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. During the 2017 edition of the iconic race, Kobayashi shattered the lap record during the qualifying session. The target time was 3:18.651, and the Japanese driver destroyed it by 3.860 seconds.

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