Supercars drivers Cam Waters and Will Brown made their Cup Series debuts Sunday at Sonoma. And while they didn't get the finishes they hoped for due to unexpected issues, both drivers left California raving about the experience.
"I had so much fun," Waters said after the race. "This weekend and the whole experience coming to a road course in a Cup car was sensational. I had so much fun and I can't thank everyone enough for making that happen"
Waters drove the No. 60 Ford for RFK Racing. He started 31st but began to work his way through the field, taking advantage of pit strategy and a flurry of cautions.
"The start of the race, I took it easy the first couple of laps and then I pressed on and tried to pass some cars," Waters said. "The car was super fast. It could absolutely make some ground passing cars, which was really good. The cautions fell our way a bit and I guess effectively we were right up there somewhere. It was all looking really good."
The day quickly changed for Waters, however, as he sustained damage in an incident in Turn 11. Erik Jones made contact with Josh Berry from behind, which sent Berry's No. 4 Ford into Martin Truex Jr.'s No. 19 Toyota. This sparked a multi-car crash, one that collected Waters and damaged his splitter.
Photo credit: Getty Images
The day progressively grew worse for Waters, who ultimately failed to finish the race due to suspension damage. Though he still enjoyed his experience checking off something on his bucket list.
Brown, who drove the No. 33 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, showcased speed to start the weekend. He was third in practice but started 24th in his NASCAR debut due to a power issue in qualifying.
Once the race began, Brown began to work his way forward. However, he quickly ran into another issue -- an electrical problem in the Chevrolet.
Brown fell three laps down as RCR sought to address the problem. He was unable to get back on the lead lap and contend for a better finish. He ended the day 33rd.
Tough day, was moving forward at the start but our electrical gremlin creeped back in unfortunately that stuck around. Was awesome to run the whole race and drive against the @nascar cup guys, massive thank you to @RCRracing for working hard and getting me back out there! 😁🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/nXGvBLMiug
— Will Brown (@will_brown87) June 10, 2024
"I really enjoyed the racing and to be honest, it was very similar to our racing back home in Supercars," Brown said in a release from RCR. "It was a disappointing result for sure. I think we were running quite well at the start and able to make up ground.
"I started to smell an electrical fire inside the car before the end of Stage 1. I wasn't sure if it was my car and then I started to see fumes behind the dash. I was hoping it would last, but it was obviously something similar to the issue yesterday in qualifying. I shut off everything and unfortunately, with the way the race played out, there weren't any cautions at the end to get our laps back. It's disappointing but that is racing at the end of the day."
While the two Supercars drivers didn't contend for the win as Shane van Gisbergen did last season at Chicago, they still raced door-to-door with the best drivers in NASCAR. They avoided major mistakes at a track where they had no experience.
Neither Waters nor Brown knows if they will have another opportunity to compete in NASCAR. This is certainly something they want to happen after an eventful weekend in wine country.
"I definitely want to do it again,"Waters said. "So hopefully I can get the call up and hopefully something doesn't clash on the track and I can come over and have another crack."