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2007 F1 champion Kimi Raikkonen recently made his NASCAR Cup Series debut. The Finnish veteran had the honor of being the first driver to kick-start Trackhouse Racing’s Project 91.

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Of course, every NASCAR driver has a crew chief to help them during a race, and Raikkonen was no exception. For the Cup race at Watkins Glen, the 42-year-old partnered with crew chief Darian Grubb.

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For the uninitiated, Grubb is a highly decorated NASCAR mechanic, engineer, and crew chief. The 46-year-old has worked with some of the biggest NASCAR teams in his career. This includes Hendrick Motorsports, Stewart-Haas Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing, and Chip Ganassi Racing.

READ MORE: Ferrari F1 Champion Kimi Raikkonen Breaks Trademark ‘Iceman’ Persona When Put on the Spot During NASCAR Debut

He has even worked with Hendrick Motorsports in two separate stints.

What accolades do Kimi Raikkonen and Darian Grubb have?

As mentioned before, Raikkonen is the 2007 Formula One world champion. He is also Ferrari’s latest F1 champion unless Charles Leclerc can do something to about that statistic. The Finnish driver is also the only F1 driver to ever take a race win with three different engine specifications, V10, V8, and V6 Turbo.

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As for Grubb, he worked with Hendrick Motorsports between 2003 and 2008. During that time period, he was the crew chief for Jimmie Johnson and guided him to victory at the 2006 Daytona 500.

Later on, from 2009 onwards, he joined Stewart-Haas Racing until 2011. In 2011, he helped guide Tony Stewart to his third and final Cup Series title.

For the 2012 NASCAR Cup Season, Grubb jumped ship to Joe Gibbs Racing and partnered with Denny Hamlin. In his tenure, he also became the crew chief for Carl Edwards in the 2015 season. Beyond that, he rejoined Hendrick Motorsports from 2016 until the 2020 season. In this particular stint, he was the crew chief for Kasey Kahne in 2017.

WATCH THIS STORY: Bubba Wallace Reveals Biggest Concern With F1 Legend Kimi Raikkonen’s NASCAR Cameo: “I Hope I Don’t Junk His A**”

Grubb was also supposed to be William Byron’s crew chief in 2018. However, he soon moved to a technical director position at Hendrick Motorsports for that year. Finally, he joined Chip Ganassi Racing for the 2021 season and joined Trackhouse Racing when CGR left the sport at the end of the 2021 season.

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Dhruv George

14,870 Articles

Dhruv George is EssentiallySports’ foremost authority on motorsport and a founding member of the outlet’s NASCAR desk. A Journalism graduate fluent in English and French, he brings over eight years of motorsports journalism experience covering everything from high-octane NASCAR battles to the finesse of Formula 1 and MotoGP. His extensive paddock access has earned him exclusive interviews with top names such as F1’s Pierre Gasly and Moto2’s Tony Arbolino, cementing his reputation as a trusted voice among racing fans. Known for his candid opinions, Dhruv isn’t afraid to tackle contentious officiating calls, most recently defending Joey Logano after the DYL penalty in Phoenix. Before focusing on NASCAR as a Senior Writer, Dhruv contributed extensively to EssentiallySports’ coverage of F1 and NASCAR, building a versatile and impactful sports portfolio.

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Ranvijay Singh

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