Perkins had in May sealed a dream NASCAR chance aboard Joe Gibbs Racing’s #19 Toyota Supra, set for the Portland road course on August 30.
He’d been diligently planning for that event when the opportunity to also race on the streets of Chicago came up just a fortnight out from the race.
Perkins arrived in the United States on Monday night and is in the midst of a busy three days in Charlotte, North Carolina, before heading up to Chicago on Friday.
“The team had a big list of stuff for me to do this week. My crew chief said it’s a month’s worth of preparation in three days,” Perkins told Speedcafe.
While testing the car pre-event is not allowed under NASCAR’s strict rules, there are three key elements to Perkins’ pre-Chicago efforts: cockpit ergonomics, simulator sessions and pit stop practice.
Perkins had travelled to JGR headquarters in May as part of his Portland preparation, giving somewhat of a head start on two of those areas.
“We wanted to finish off some stuff with the seat fitting that we’d started for Portland, but now in the actual race car,” he said, noting the Supra he’ll race in Chicago is a brand new chassis.
“When I came over last time I couldn’t do a seat fitting with an engine and a gearbox, so I couldn’t pick a gear lever and pedal position, which is obviously going to be pretty critical for heel and toeing.”
The biggest hours are being logged in JGR’s simulator, which has given Perkins a virtual feel for the Xfinity machine and a chance to work with crew chief Seth Chavka.
Perkins bought a sim for his home on the outskirts of Melbourne earlier this year to prepare for Portland and was able to practice the Chicago course on that last week before flying out of Australia.
While there is unlikely to be time for Perkins to drive the full motion simulator at Toyota Racing Developments, the JGR version is a serious tool in its own right.
“I bought my sim on Facebook Marketplace so I can tell you the Joe Gibbs one is a fair bit better than that,” he laughed.
“I’m the first to admit I’m not really a sim guy, the younger generation have adapted better to that than the guys my age or a bit older.
“But that was just about learning the track so when I got on the simulator here it was one less thing to get my head around.
“The JGR sim is good to get familiar with the feel of everything, whether it be the right-hand gearshift, the steering weight and wheel size, the brakes, the throttle…
“I think I’m the first person to wear the clutch out on the downshifts on the sim here. I don’t think many had used it before!”
As Perkins alludes, NASCAR regulars left-foot brake having grown up doing that on ovals, while Supercars drivers tend to right-foot brake and modulate the clutch on downshifts.
While that skill translates well to the NASCAR road courses, the biggest challenge for Supercars drivers making US cameos arguably comes in pit lane, as Will Brown flagged earlier this week.
Drivers need to manage pit road speed without an electronic limiter, while having the crew jump over the wall to service the car as it arrives is also something to get used to.
The Portland Xfinity race, which takes place away from the Cup Series schedule, will have non-competitive pit stops where teams are free to perform service without time pressure.
Pit stop practice for Perkins this week involves trips to the shop of JGR customer 23XI Racing, which has an area dedicated for practicing ‘reverse direction’ stops with the wall to the right of the driver.
“I’ve spent plenty of hours thinking about left-hand drive, right-hand gear shift, how to drive the car, but because of how Portland works, pit stops weren’t something I’d even considered,” Perkins said.
“Chicago is probably not so bad in that it’s likely only a one pit stop race but it was essential to go and do some practice, so I’m thankful we’re getting to do some.
“The strangest thing is when you get to your pit box, all these blokes jump out in front of you, so you’ve got to get familiar with that.
“Normally we’ve got everyone assembled in position, but these blokes jump out in front of the car and you think, ‘shit, I hope I don’t barrel one of them over the hood’, as they call it.
“But they just tell you to drive in as hard as you can and they’ll work around you. Once you get your head around that it’s pretty cool.”
As for the pit road speed, he adds: “You’ve got to drive down the lane while staring at the tacho and there’s no margin for error on speeding, so I think we’ll be erring on the side of caution.
“It’s easy to say they should have limiters but I don’t mind it, it creates another area for human mistakes. You’ve got an option, you either speed or don’t…”
Perkins is staying in Charlotte with friend and JGR Cup crew chief James Small, who helped introduce his fellow Australian to the team when it was searching for a driver ahead of Portland.
The late nature of the Chicago call-up has also meant Perkins won’t have many of his own supporters at the event, outside of sponsor Earl Evans and US-based Aussie drag racer Richie Crampton.
A contingent from Australia including father Larry and Supercars driving partner James Courtney are slated to travel to Portland later in the year.
“It was such short notice, I would have loved for more people to come,” he said. “I’m actually missing my family holiday in Cairns, my wife and kids are going to be there while I’m racing!”
The Loop 110 Chicago Xfinity race takes place on Saturday, 5 July, from 3:30pm (6:30am, Sunday, 6 July, AEST) and will be screened live in Australia on Fox Sports and Kayo Sports.
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