Pink Bull F1 driver Liam Lawson acquired one other little style of American racing when he not too long ago paced some laps in a NASCAR inventory automotive on the Ford Efficiency Technical Heart in Harmony, North Carolina. There, he met up with NASCAR Cup Sequence driver Noah Gragson to run some laps within the Ford simulator. It is not the 2’s first time collectively, both, as Ford filmed a video with the 2 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway a number of months again. However this time, Lawson truly acquired a style of what Gragson does each weekend.
Lawson is a confirmed winner within the F3, and F2 divisions, in addition to DTM and Tremendous System. He was promoted to Pink Bull through the low season after a handful of races with its junior crew throughout each the 2023 and 2024 seasons. This 12 months, he replaces Sergio Perez as a teammate to four-time F1 World Champion Max Verstappen. In the meantime, Gragson, who presently competes with Entrance Row Motorsports, is a former championship runner-up in each the NASCAR Xfinity and Truck Sequence.
And earlier than you ask why Lawson can be hanging out with Ford so typically, this little rendezvous is smart as Ford and Pink Bull have fashioned a technical partnership for the 2026 season — bringing the Blue Oval again to System 1 grid subsequent 12 months.
Liam Lawson (proper) and Noah Gragson (left)
Lawson had his selection of tracks to check out, and choosing the Circuit of Americas, he strapped in to drive a digital Ford Mustang across the acquainted street course whereas Gragson watched on. For reference, William Byron’s 2024 pole lap on the total course was 2mins and 9s, however Lawson was aiming to only get below 2mins and 20s in his first laps behind the wheel.
“I wager you he spins out,” stated Gragson, who not too long ago completed eighth at COTA. Nicely, he didn’t regardless of slightly twitch by means of the quick right-hander on the backend of the circuit. He truly ended up with a 2min 15s lap in his first try, which continues to be 4 seconds shy of the again of the grid in 2024, however nonetheless sufficient to impress Gragson.
Lawson additionally ran some laps at Bristol Motor Speedway, with Gragson telling him that he “knocked it out of the park.”
Will Lawson strive NASCAR?
After all, the subsequent query was concerning the New Zealander’s curiosity in operating a NASCAR inventory automotive for actual. He would not be the primary as fellow Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen famously received on debut on the Chicago Avenue Course in 2023.
“Dude, I might like to do a race in America,” smiled Lawson. And when Gragson requested him to make clear that he meant NASCAR, Lawson did not hesitate: “Yeah, 100%.”
Learn Additionally:
On this article
Nick DeGroot
NASCAR Cup
Noah Gragson
Liam Lawson
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