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
Photograph by: Danny Hansen / NKP / Motorsport Photos
The Cup race is an enormous step up, however it’ll additionally come on a street course, the place his earlier NASCAR begins this yr have come on ovals. Waters, 29, ought to at the very least have a barely higher consolation stage.
“For me, it’s a little bit of a bucket checklist (merchandise), to be trustworthy,” Water mentioned this week at NASCAR’s Manufacturing Facility in Harmony, N.C. “I get to come back over and do a Cup race – it’s fairly superior.
“To have the ability to do it, you recognize, on a street course and in a automotive that sort of makes a little bit bit extra sense to me goes to be fairly particular as nicely. I feel I’ve acquired no concept 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 sort of the Truck aspect, and I completely had a ball. It appeals simply to sort of step out my consolation zone and do a number of extra races on the aspect and complement my racing again house.”
Waters may have some acquainted firm in Sunday’s race.
Present Supercars collection chief Will Brown will 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 Sequence – will function one among Brown’s spotters in Sunday’s Cup race.
Final July, van Gisbergen grew to become 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 street course and to drive a automotive, that makes much more sense to me. That’s quite a bit nearer to what a race again house is,” Waters mentioned. “You already know, it’s a bonus, to be trustworthy.
“However on the identical time, stepping up into Cup, the extent of competitors goes to be means 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 current repave, Waters will even get a 50-minute follow session on monitor on Friday, in comparison with the standard 20 minutes throughout most Cup weekends.
“The Cup automotive appears quite a bit nearer to what we race again house, in all probability nearer to our outdated automotive, the Gen 2 automotive than the Gen 3 automotive however quite a bit nearer to what I raced than the truck,” Waters mentioned.
“To return over right here and never get any testing and whatnot is difficult and one thing that we get plenty of again house, you recognize follow and testing. That’s a little bit of a problem.”
