Liam Lawson "would love to do a race in America" after laps in Ford NASCAR sim

Red Bull F1 driver Liam Lawson got another little taste of American racing when he recently paced some laps in a NASCAR stock car at the Ford Performance Technical Center in Concord, North Carolina. There, he met up with NASCAR Cup Series driver Noah Gragson to run some laps in the Ford simulator. It’s not the two’s first time together, either, as Ford filmed a video with the two at Las Vegas Motor Speedway a few months back. But this time, Lawson actually got a taste of what Gragson does every weekend. 

Lawson is a proven winner in the F3, and F2 divisions, as well as DTM and Super Formula. He was promoted to Red Bull during the off-season after a handful of races with its junior team during both the 2023 and 2024 seasons. This year, he replaces Sergio Perez as a teammate to four-time F1 World Champion Max Verstappen. Meanwhile, Gragson, who currently competes with Front Row Motorsports, is a former championship runner-up in both the NASCAR Xfinity and Truck Series.

And before you ask why Lawson would be hanging out with Ford so often, this little rendezvous makes sense as Ford and Red Bull have formed a technical partnership for the 2026 season — bringing the Blue Oval back to Formula 1 grid next year. 

Liam Lawson (right) and Noah Gragson (left)

Lawson had his choice of tracks to try out, and opting for the Circuit of Americas, he strapped in to drive a virtual Ford Mustang around the familiar road course while Gragson watched on. For reference, William Byron’s 2024 pole lap on the full course was 2mins and 9s, but Lawson was aiming to just get under 2mins and 20s in his first laps behind the wheel.

“I bet you he spins out,” said Gragson, who recently finished eighth at COTA. Well, he did not despite a little twitch through the fast right-hander at the backend of the circuit. He actually ended up with a 2min 15s lap in his first attempt, which is still four seconds shy of the back of the grid in 2024, but still enough to impress Gragson.

Lawson also ran some laps at Bristol Motor Speedway, with Gragson telling him that he “knocked it out of the park.”

Will Lawson try NASCAR?

Of course, the next question was regarding the New Zealander’s interest in running a NASCAR stock car for real. He wouldn’t be the first as fellow Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen famously won on debut at the Chicago Street Course in 2023.

“Dude, I would love to do a race in America,” smiled Lawson. And when Gragson asked him to clarify that he meant NASCAR, Lawson didn’t hesitate: “Yeah, 100%.”