Former Formula 1 driver Kevin Magnussen is set to make a surprise debut in the American NASCAR racing series. The 33-year-old is best known for his two stints on the F1 grid but has remained active in top-level motorsport since losing his Haas seat at the end of the 2024 season.
K-Mag is the son of sportscar specialist Jan Magnussen, though he shot to immediate fame himself in early 2014 when he finished second in his first ever F1 race, driving for McLaren at the Australian Grand Prix. It was a better result that even Lewis Hamilton had managed on debut with the same team seven years earlier.
That eye-catching result immediately set expectations sky high but, even though the Dane would go on to start 185 races, he never stood on a podium again. He was let go by McLaren at the end of that first season and went on to race for Renault and then Haas, but has returned to sportscars since his F1 exit and now drives for BMW in the World Endurance Championship.
Magnussen has also tried his hand at IndyCar and IMSA sportscar racing in recent years and is now set for a shot at NASCAR success. He has been selected by Trackhouse Racing to race in the No.91 car, marking his NASCAR Cup Series debut in a race set to take place on a temporary circuit at a US Navy base in San Diego.
“I’m incredibly excited and honored to have the opportunity to compete in NASCAR,” said Magnussen. What Justin Marks and Trackhouse have done with Project 91 is unique. To provide drivers from outside of the NASCAR world with a chance to compete at this level, I’m proud to have this opportunity.
“I’ve already spent time with the team in North Carolina: meeting everyone, doing the seat fit, going through pit stop procedures and all the details that come with preparing for a NASCAR weekend. They’re an awesome group of people, incredibly dedicated and just as excited about this debut as I am. I really can’t wait to get to San Diego and experience it all for the first time.”
As alluded to by the Dane, Trackhouse’s Project 91 has a track record of giving high-profile racers from other motorsport series a chance to try their hand at NASCAR. F1 champion Kimi Raikkonen drive for the team twice, first in 2022 and then again the following year. Brazilian racer Helio Castroneves, who has won the Indy 500 a joint-record four times, debuted in 2025.
Magnussen, however, will hope to be able to follow in the footsteps of New Zealand’s Shane van Gisbergen, who made his name as a three-time champion in the Australian Supercars series before winning on his Cup Series debut driving for Project 91 in Chicago in 2023. He landed a full-time NASCAR drive off the back of that stunning debut and has gone on to add six more victories and 15 total top-tens since.