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Perkins, son of Australian motorsport legend Larry and an accomplished racer in his own right, delved into his interest in NASCAR during a recent episode of The Hard Card.
The Blanchard Racing Team endurance driver revealed that he once had a deal on the table to race in the third-tier Truck series at the Mosport circuit in Canada in the mid-2010s, however fell short of the funding required to make it happen.
“Everything you want to do outside of Supercars, you’ve got to kind of bring some level of funding or own the car or something,” said Perkins.
“I’m not quite in that luxurious position where I can kind of do what I want in that respect. I’ve always had to work pretty hard.
“But I have – and I have not made a secret of it – but for 10 or 15 years, I’ve tried to do something in road course NASCAR land.
“I got close once in the truck racing in Mosport in Canada. I think I got the budget down to US$75,000, which was still too much money for me.
“But you know, if I could one day get something like that together, it would be pretty cool.”
Regular contact with Supercars champion turned NASCAR regular Shane van Gisbergen has kept the fire burning for Perkins, although he does admit that the clock is ticking.
“I’ve been chatting a lot to Shane this year over in the States, he’s a big supporter of the Perkins Engineering stuff,” said Perkins.
“We talk a bit of shit throughout the year about various opportunities and things that are going on. It’s going to get harder and harder as I get older.”
The Perkins name has significant history racing outside of Australia thanks to the early stages of Larry’s career.
The six-time Bathurst 1000 champion raced open-wheelers in Europe in the 1970s, starting in Formula Ford and making it to Formula 1 with sporadic appearances until 1977.
He then went back overseas in the 1980s to make a pair of Le Mans starts, his best finish a fourth in 1988 for Tom Walkinshaw Racing.
For more with Jack Perkins, watch the full episode of The Hard Card
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