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Italian Max Papis to Pilot a Chevrolet in NASCAR Debut at Watkins Glen
After scoring podium finishes at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, racing his Corvette to victory in the American Le Mans Series and capturing GT class wins for Cadillac in the SCCA SPEED World Challenge Series, Max Papis will soon have something new to add to his GM racing portfolio as the European sports car ace prepares to make his NASCAR debut at Watkins Glen.
“I have lots of experience driving front-engined, rear-drive cars but this is a completely different machine,” said Papis, who will be behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS race car in both the Nextel Cup and Busch Series races. “I’ll be in the paddock listening to every piece of advice I can get.”
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As drivers from various racing series have recently stated their interest in NASCAR, most recently with Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya’s announcement to switch to the series, Papis - who previously competed in Formula 1 - has known for years he wanted to attempt a few races in the stock car series.
“I told Brent Dewar (who was general manager of Chevrolet at the time and currently is GM North America vice president of field sales, service and parts) a few years ago at Le Mans, I wanted to be the first Italian to race in the Nextel Cup Series with a Chevy bowtie on my fire suit.
“Throughout my career, Chevrolet and General Motors have played a big part and I’m excited about making my debut in both Busch and Cup, especially in a Chevrolet/Pratt & Miller car,” said Papis.
Papis will pilot the No. 36 McGill Motorsports Sport Clips Chevy on Aug.12 in the Zippo 200 Busch race and then drive the No. 78 Furniture Row Monte Carlo SS on Aug. 13 during the Sirius Satellite Radio at The Glen. Both race cars have a chassis constructed by GM Racing’s technical partner, Pratt & Miller, and will be powered by a Hendrick Motorsports engine. Papis was actually first influenced to compete in a NASCAR road course event by the late Randy Dorton, the former director of engine development at Hendrick Motorsports.
“Hendrick Motorsports has helped me very, very much in this – they are providing the engine for the No. 76 – and before Randy Dorton passed away, we talked about how great it would be to run a road course with one of his engines. So I think it’s honoring him in a way by running a Hendrick engine.”
To prepare for the upcoming events, Papis has been relying on test sessions to get him comfortable and competitive for his back-to-back NASCAR races at the 2.45-mile road course.
“My experience with these types of cars is definitely limited to tests last year at Road Atlanta and this year at VIR (Virginia International Raceway) with Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 Lowe’s Monte Carlo SS. This week I’m testing again at Atlanta and VIR to be as ready as possible. I know it’s not going to be easy qualifying the car but I want to give it my best.”
Papis is also hopeful his newest fan, Marco, will be in attendance for his NASCAR debut. His wife, Tatiana Fittipaldi Papis, recently gave birth to their first child, Marco, on July 21.
“Marco is the biggest gift that God could give me. I don’t think you can say you are a truly happy person until you have a child. I hope to have my wife Tatiana and Marco as well as the rest of my family at The Glen for my NASCAR debut.”
PaddockTalk Perspective
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