With a season-best 11th place finish under his belt to add to the 'Rookie of the Race' award he won on his NASCAR debut, Karthikeyan said that he was confident of breaking into the top 10 soon.
Narain Karthikeyan’s driving career has taken as many twists and turns as the various tracks he has driven on around the world. Having driven in more than 10 different championships across the globe over a career spanning 17 years, the first Indian driver to break into the Formula One is extremely pleased with the sudden upswing his life has taken.
For, having spent a few seasons out of the spotlight following his three-year F1 stint, he is finally back in the headlines. With a season-best 11th place finish under his belt to add to the “Rookie of the Race” award he won on his NASCAR debut, Karthikeyan told DNA that he was confident of breaking into the top 10 soon. “I’ve had a great tour so far,” Karthikeyan said. “You realise how big NASCAR is only once you go out there and see it. The more time I get in NASCAR, I will feel more comfortable. Overall it’s been quite good, and we are hoping that it gets even better,” he added.
Karthikeyan said that he developed an interest in stock car racing after he started following Juan Pablo Montoya’s performances in the NASCAR championships after the Colombian moved out of F1 in 2006. And it was after a chat with Montoya that Karthikeyan decided to make the trip across the Atlantic.
Asked about the challenges he faced in stock car racing, Karthikeyan said, “Physically it’s not demanding but mentally it’s quite hard. The temperature in the cockpit is really high because it’s a closed car.” He added that the cars were much heavier and it would take some time to adapt to the different driving style.
Speaking on the safety aspects, the Coimbatore-based driver said that on the whole stock cars were safe, “but those accidents, when they happened, were huge because of the high speeds involved.” Karthikeyan’s next race in the championship is in Indiana on July 23. The races are being beamed live on Neo Sports.
On another note, Karthikeyan said that he didn’t think too much of fellow-Indian Karun Chandhok’s stint in Formula One, where the 26-year-old is part of the HRT team. According to him, HRT is one of the worst teams on the grid. “He is compared only to his teammate Senna who is convincingly beating him right now,” he said. On the other hand, he praised Force India for their consistency, and said that he believed they would be back on the podium this season.
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