The 2009 Formulation 1 world champion was making the primary of three deliberate outings within the Cup Sequence this 12 months in a Rick Ware Racing Ford, as he gears as much as a return to the Le Mans 24 Hours with Hendrick Motorsport’s Storage 56 NASCAR programme.
Button finished 18th as the best of the road course ringers, forward of Jordan Taylor and former F1 rival Kimi Raikkonen, after an eventful race that went into triple extra time and noticed quite a few incidents.
The Briton defined afterwards that he struggled with cockpit temperatures and got here near retiring from the race consequently.
“It was so sizzling, I don’t have a fan in my seat which actually didn’t assist me an excessive amount of,” he mentioned.
“I assumed I used to be going to faint within the automobile, so I finished twice for a minute. They put ice on me, gave me a great deal of water, and I went again out.
“I used to be so near getting out of the automobile as a result of I assumed I used to be going to faint. I need to’ve drank eight, 9 bottles of water in the course of the race.
“The group stored me calm, and it’s the explanation why we obtained a very good end result in the long run. So, I used to be pleased.”
Button described his race as “an emotional rollercoaster” and admitted to feeling his first stint was “embarrassing” as he obtained right into a rhythm from 24th on the grid.
“First, it was horrible,” he mentioned. “I imply, I need to’ve been final by the tip of it. And I used to be identical to, ‘Everybody: Go. I simply must drive and discover a rhythm.’
Jenson Button, Rick Ware Racing, Mobil 1 Ford Mustang
Picture by: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsport Images
“I’ve by no means gone by means of a nook too extensive, so typically.
“The primary stint was actually dangerous – it was embarrassing for me.
“I used to be like, ‘Alright guys, we have to pit, freshen the tyres and I want some air – I want some recent air.’
“I obtained that. The tempo was good, consistency was good. I used to be actually pleased, and handed just a few vehicles which was good.
“We obtained somewhat bit unfortunate with the security automobile as a result of it was simply two laps earlier than our window. Pitted, then the following stint was mayhem.
“We additionally made a few modifications that simply didn’t work. Huge oversteer – went from the automobile feeling nice to essentially tough to drive.”
Button even had a run-in with Raikkonen at one level, saying: “I additionally had an enormous whack from Kimi, and it fell off after that. The automobile wasn’t fairly proper.
“Each time I turned in, the rear tyres would chatter, then instantly to oversteer.
“It was actually tough, however in direction of the tip, we made some good calls stopping and placing on recent tyres.
“I loved the final three restarts – obtained good placement and good overtaking strikes from the surface.”
Button will make his subsequent NASCAR Cup Sequence look on the Chicago Avenue Course race on 2 July.
