[Raceboy]

Minardi driver Jos Verstappen will have his first experience of stock car driving tomorrow (Saturday), when he steps behind the wheel of a Days of Thunder ASCAR at Rockingham Motor Speedway.

The Dutchman will have a run in a Team West-Tec Chevrolet on the 1.5-mile oval circuit. Verstappen will receive some help from ASCAR regular Michael Vergers, who will help his countryman get acclimatised to the 500bhp machine during a test session today.

"It will be a new experience for me to drive a race car that has the wheels covered and also has a very large steering wheel," said Verstappen. "I have not been on an oval before, although I have watched races on television, and I have a feeling those concrete walls are going to look pretty close when you're out there. It is going to be a very different driving experience from my normal Minardi F1 car, but that's half the fun."

The ASCAR won't be the first new machine that Verstappen will have a run in next week. He is also due to drive the 2002 Arrows A23 chassis in a back-to-back test with Minardi's current PS03 machine in a comparative test at Monza.

bron: autosport.com

Dat cliché van verstappen staat in het grind kan in ieder geval al niet op een ovaal.