Kamui Kobayashi experienced everything a NASCAR race could give him Sunday on the Indianapolis road course, and it left him wanting more.
“I want to come back,” he said.
The two-time WEC champion made his NASCAR Cup Series debut with 23XI Racing, finishing 33rd after starting 28th and being sent for a spin on two different occasions in Turn 1 from contact with two different competitors (Andy Lally on lap two and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. with 16 laps to go).
Kobayashi was in a third entry for 23XI Racing. It was only the second time the organization has fielded a third car.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. SENDS international racing superstar Kamui Kobayashi! 😳 pic.twitter.com/B0FldGQUZM
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) August 13, 2023
Although the No. 67 Toyota did run amongst those on the top half of the leaderboard, Kobayashi felt he had decent speed at times in the race. He was hoping for a caution to help his cause, though, which never came. There was only one yellow before the race went 77 green flag laps to the finish.
“I’m a bit surprised. It was a like sprint race, actually,” Kobayashi said.
There was nothing for the sports car stalwart to hang his head about, understanding that he needs more experience. Kobayashi believes he’ll have a better for feel things the next time he gets an opportunity to join the Cup Series field.
“This time was challenging, but I understand what I need to do and I got quite good experience,” he said. “Let’s see what happens. I think this experience was really amazing…because I always dreamed to race in NASCAR at one point when I was a kid.
“To bring me here is challenging for everyone, but we made it happen. Hopefully, I think we can explore even more in Japan about NASCAR.”