Waters, a 12-time winner in Supercars, will make his Cup debut in Sunday’s race at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway, driving the No. 60 Ford for Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing.
Waters has some NASCAR expertise already, having competed in a pair of NASCAR Truck races this season at Martinsville and Kansas with ThorSport Racing.
Cam Waters, ThorSport Racing, TRADIE Ford F-150 Jack Wooden, McAnally Hilgemann Racing, Instacoat Premium Merchandise Chevrolet Silverado
Picture by: Danny Hansen / NKP / Motorsport Pictures
The Cup race is an enormous step up, however it can additionally come on a highway course, the place his earlier NASCAR begins this yr have come on ovals. Waters, 29, ought to no less than have a barely higher consolation degree.
“For me, it’s a little bit of a bucket checklist (merchandise), to be trustworthy,” Water stated this week at NASCAR’s Manufacturing Facility in Harmony, N.C. “I get to return over and do a Cup race – it’s fairly superior.
“To have the ability to do it, you recognize, on a highway course and in a automobile that type of makes just a little bit extra sense to me goes to be fairly particular as nicely. I feel I’ve acquired no thought the way it’s to go, however I simply need to benefit from the week.
“The opposite half was to have the ability to come over right here and do a number of oval races. That was type of the Truck aspect, and I completely had a ball. It appeals simply to type of step out my consolation zone and do a number of extra races on the aspect and complement my racing again dwelling.”
Waters may have some acquainted firm in Sunday’s race.
Present Supercars collection chief Will Brown may even be making his Cup debut at Sonoma with Richard Childress Racing.
Additionally, three-time Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen – who now competes full-time in NASCAR’s Xfinity Collection – will function one in all Brown’s spotters in Sunday’s Cup race.
Final July, van Gisbergen turned the primary driver in additional than 60 years to win a Cup race in his debut when he took victory within the inaugural Chicago Road Race driving for Trackhouse Racing.
“To return over right here to do a highway course and to drive a automobile, that makes much more sense to me. That’s loads nearer to what a race again house is,” Waters stated. “You recognize, it’s a bonus, to be trustworthy.
“However on the identical time, stepping up into Cup, the extent of competitors goes to be method tougher as nicely.”
Similarities between Cup vehicles and Supercars
Earlier this week, Waters spent a while watching his RFK Racing team-mate Chris Buescher in a simulator hoping to choose up how the present Cup drivers navigate their vehicles.
Due to Sonoma’s latest repave, Waters may even get a 50-minute apply session on monitor on Friday, in comparison with the same old 20 minutes throughout most Cup weekends.
“The Cup automobile appears loads nearer to what we race again dwelling, most likely nearer to our outdated automobile, the Gen 2 automobile than the Gen 3 automobile however loads nearer to what I raced than the truck,” Waters stated.
“To return over right here and never get any testing and whatnot is tough and one thing that we get quite a lot of again dwelling, you recognize apply and testing. That’s a little bit of a problem.”
