Interview: Mattias Ekström heads to NASCAR

Mattias Ekström is heading to the United States next weekend to take part in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. But it was not long ago the Swede didn’t even know it was going to happen.
“I never thought it all was going to happen so quickly. It was less than a week from the decision to when I was sitting in the car for the test,” said Ekström to TouringCarTimes.

Ekström completed his debut NASCAR test at Virginia International Raceway and was impressed by the NASCAR machinery.

“I knew before that these cars are not easy to drive. With close to 900 bhp, almost no downforce and relatively small tyres, they are indeed a handful to drive. But I really enjoyed the test,” said Ekström.

Ekström says his vast experience of different types of racing cars helped him a lot.

“It helped me a lot to have driven many different racing cars. And for once I felt that I had use of big leg muscles for the brakes of the NASCAR vehicle,” said Ekström with a smile.

NASCAR Red Bull Racing Team boss Jay Frye was impressed by Ekström and how he adapted to the NASCAR vechicle.

“We were worried about getting him up to speed in a day. He was up to speed in an hour, less than an hour. He is a phenomenal talent,” said Frye.

While Ekström adapted quickly to the new car during the test, the Swede says the NASCAR vehicle requires a very different kind of driving style compared to the Audi A4 he races in DTM.

“You have to let everything take more time with the NASCAR vehicle. In a DTM car can be quite aggressive with the throttle for example. With the NASCAR vehicle it is crazy easy to get wheel spin.

You can hardly compare the NASCAR vehicle with the DTM car. You can really feel the g-force in your neck when you step on the brakes in a DTM car for example. For sure, the NASCAR vehicle has got a lot more power, but the brakes and the chassis are so different,” said Ekström.

Ekström is not expecting an easy time in his debut NASCAR race. Newcomers to the series often struggle to produce results.

“If you look back, newcomers often have a hard time in NASCAR, but that is no different to DTM. I am not expecting any special treatment by the other drivers. My ambition is go there and do my best possible, then we will see how far that takes me,” said Ekström.

The race weekend setup differs a lot from what Ekström is used to in DTM, like the qualifying setup for example.

“The qualifying is a shoot out-session and that is going to take quite some time with the amount of cars combined with the track length. This means that the conditions could change a lot during the session which makes it hard to know where you really are in terms of speed compared to the other drivers. Then the race is about 2.5 hours, somewhat more than what I am used to. But I do not see any of that as a problem, it is going to be very interesting,” said Ekström.

Just two weeks after the NASCAR race, Ekström is back on track in Germany for the DTM race at Norising. The Swede sees no problem in reloading and adjusting back for DTM.

“There are things that I can bring from DTM to NASCAR, just as there are things that I can take with me from NASCAR to DTM. I am looking forward to both races,” said Ekström.

Ekström is not going to do any further races in NASCAR this season as the one remaining road course race, at Watkins Glen, clashes with the DTM race at Nürburgring.

Whether Ekström would be interested in doing more NASCAR if the opportunity arises is not something he has thought much about.

“That thought has not even crossed my mind yet. I have just done one test day and I am going to do one race while there are over 40 races each season. My main focus is on DTM,” said Ekström.