There are lots of guys currently in NASCAR who have experience driving some kind of open-wheel car. Kasey Kahne, Casey Mears, Robby Gordon, Jeff Gordon, John Andretti, A.J. Allmendinger, other dudes who I don’t know about, etc.
Word on the street is that Patrick Carpentier might join Gillett Evernham Motorsports next season to drive the No. 10.
Let’s look back at some of the open-wheelers that have come to the Cup series starting with the first one to come over since I’ve been watching NASCAR.
Tony Stewart
AP photo
Oh, how young, naive Jaynelle loved Tony Stewart.
My favorite Indy driver was coming to NASCAR. I couldn’t have been more excited. Then he started getting in Jeff Gordon’s way and acting like a brat so he was dead to me! Dead, I say!
It wasn’t really a surprise when Stewart made the switch to NASCAR. He was already a champion and can drive anything with wheels.
Stewart came to NASCAR when coming to NASCAR wasn’t what all the cool kids were doing. Maybe that’s why no one really mentions him in the same group with the new crop of guys.
Then we had some guys who tried and didn’t really have what it takes. The one that sticks out in my mind is Christian Fittipaldi. Poor, beautiful Christian Fittipaldi. Last I heard, he was racing in Brazil.
Jimmy Vasser and Adrian Fernandez have given the Busch series a try but weren’t able to make the step up to the big time.
Now I skip ahead to Juan Montoya because with the exception of the guys I just mentioned I can’t think of any others that were big names in the open-wheel world before coming to NASCAR.
Juan Montoya
AP photo
This one was more surprising than Stewart.
A Formula One star and Indianapolis 500 winner coming to NASCAR? No way. Those F1 guys spend half the time pretending NASCAR doesn’t exist and the other half looking down their nose at it.
Montoya has rubbed people wrong everywhere he went and NASCAR has been no exception.
Should we expect anything less from a man who went into Michael Schumacher’s territory and promptly spun him out?
Montoya’s has one Cup win already but rookies winning races really isn’t such a big deal anymore. All the good ones do it. And it was on a road course – you know, those types of tracks that F1 races on every week. Now he needs a win on an oval.
Next year, we’ll see a couple more former IRL and F1 racers.
Jacques Villeneuve
AP photo
Now, is Villeneuve coming over because he wants a new challenge for himself or because he couldn’t get an F1 ride? You decide.
The IRL and Champ Car are dying a slow death and will continue to do so until they decide to play nice so it’s no surprise that Villeneuve showed no interest in returning to that game.
His impressive resume also includes an Indy 500 win, a CART championship and an F1 championship.
Dario Franchitti
AP photo
He won the Indianapolis 500 and the IRL championship this year so why stay there, right?
He’s got nothing left to prove and probably wants a new challenge for his career.
And of course, like I said in the comments yesterday, when all these guys say “new challenge,” they probably really mean “more money and fame.”
Franchitti has a Southern girl for a wife who probably grew up with NASCAR fans all around her so it’s not really a surprise to see him give it a shot.
Sam Hornish Jr.
AP photo
Why is no one talking about him?
He tried to qualify for this past weekend’s Talladega race but he’s getting about two percent of the attention that is being thrown at Franchitti and Villeneuve.
He’s American, people! I thought we were all about sticking with our own in NASCAR. Jeez. He’s a three-time IRL champ and an Indy 500 champ. I think that means he’s good. Throw some love at the guy.
He’s failed to qualify for a couple other races. Make a race, Sam, and they’ll have to talk about you.
Scott Speed
AP photo
Speaking of Americans, we have Scott Speed.
Now, here’s another case of, “Well, I can’t get an F1 ride so I better see what my other options are if I want to keep racing.”
Speed has probably accomplished the least of all the guys who are giving stock cars a try. Did he miss his calling? Should he have been trying for a NASCAR career all along? Or, is he just a no-talent hack? Again, you decide.
Some people have left nasty comments about Speed. I really don’t know why people seem to hate the guy so much.
Speed will drive the full 2008 ARCA season and will probably try NASCAR after that.
Patrick Carpentier
AP photo
That brings us to everyone’s other favorite French Canadian.
Will he join Gillett Evernham Motorsports next year to drive the car being vacated by Scott Riggs?
Well, Alex Gillett isn’t really saying. In a story I read on Monday he was quoted as saying, of Carpentier, “He is one guy we like, absolutely. He tested pretty well at Kentucky and drove the car pretty well on the track, so we’ll see.”
They are also looking at David Stremme.
The Gillett family owns the Montreal Canadiens so could they play favorites with the Québec native?
The new owners of Hall of Fame racing, executives with the Arizona Diamondbacks, signed Arizona native J.J. Yeley so maybe Gillett will go the same route.
OK, that’s it.
Now we can look at what gives for all this.
Is it the incredible money that can be earned in NASCAR? Is it really the desire to challenge oneself? Is it that no one else wants them? Is it America’s soft immigration laws? Kidding!
What do you think? And do you like it? I did at first. It’s all my favorite guys from other racing series coming to NASCAR. I get to watch them without having to watch open-wheel racing. Win-win.
But it’s getting a little out of hand.
And, who’s next? Michael Schumacher, care to unretire?
10/10/07 – Update: The AP says that Carpentier is finalizing his deal with Gillett Evernham today so, yep, that’s one more.
The IRL and Champ Car really do need to get together and make one decent road racing series. I’d like to see Montoya,Villeneuve,Franchitti and Carpentier back racing each other in open wheel. I just can’t get use to the idea of them racing taxi cabs in circles so I won’t be watching.
— Robert Steeves 10/09/2007 10:54 PM #
I’d love to see Schumacher come to NASCAR and get his ass handed to him.
— dr 10/10/2007 04:34 AM #
I’d love to see any one of the NASCAR guys try to do one lap in an F1 car. You notice the migration isn’t the other way.
— Juan 10/10/2007 08:06 AM #
As a matter of fact Jeff Gordon (who I’m not particularly fond of) crawled into JP Montoya’s F-1 car several years ago at the Indy course and within a few laps was running circuit times that were competitive. I’m surprised that you didn’t know that, Juan!
A racer is a racer is a racer. Schumacher and his ilk would do alright in taxi cab, but it sure would be fun to watch them struggle with it from the onset, being that, for the most part, F-1 types turn their noses up at the mere mention of stock cars.
— dr 10/10/2007 08:34 AM #
I don’t want to say anything negative about stock car drivers cause they know their stuff too but The Indy course is an oval too, so once Gordon accelerated, driving the course properly was probably not that big a difference than a stock car(except F1 handles better). I am pretty sure Juan was talking about seeing a NASCAR driver go to the Monaco or Canadian circuit and try their luck. Something about turning right.
— miklos 10/10/2007 08:50 AM #
miklos, during the car swap event Jeff Gordon ran the F1 car on Indy’s road course, not its oval.
— Formula Fox 10/10/2007 10:41 AM #
What about A J Almendinger? He’s a young American who won three or four Champ Car races last year before signing on with Red Bull. Of course, driving for a new team he has had zilch results this year …
— GRW 10/10/2007 10:58 AM #
Don’t forget about Andrew Ranger, he just won the very first NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Championship and I would expect to see him make an effort to move to Cup very soon.
— 4ever3 10/10/2007 03:42 PM #
As an Allmendinger fan I can say that its not wholly down the new team, its also his lack of seat time. Since taking a few Busch Series starts he’s shown he IS capable of handling those beastly stock cars – there’s been a noticable increase in the quality of his runs(when he qualifies, anyway) sicne he started the Busch rraces. Given enough time, he could be a reasonable skilled NASCAR racer. I’ll admit its likely he’ll never win a NASCAR Cup race, but I can see him being able to get plenty of good finishes over the course of a season if he can just get more track time.
And he won four races, three of them(Portland, Cleveland, Toronto) in a row. Those three races were also his first three races for the Forsythe team.
Whoa. Long comment, here. I get a bit long-winded sometimes. :P Of course get me started on what needs to be done to recreate a good open-wheel series in America(it doesn’t HAVE to be through unification, that’s just the easiest and probably best way) and you’d get something about as long as this article. OR longer.
— Formula Fox 10/10/2007 10:53 PM #
I haven’t read all of the comments yet, so someone may have already pointed it out. But, I believe I read that Carpentier would be driving in the ARCA Series next year for Evernham.
Anywho, I think that the open-wheelers coming to NASCAR is a great thing. For one, I don’t really care much for open wheel racing to begin with, so I like the extra competition that gets added to stock car racing as a result. I also like the added worldwide attention that NASCAR gets from it.
— Tim Zaegel 10/11/2007 02:44 PM #
Nevermind, Carpentier’s not running the ARCA Series … I was thinking of Ricky Stenhouse that just joined the Roush stable.
— Tim Zaegel 10/11/2007 03:48 PM #
— Robert Steeves 10/09/2007 10:54 PM #
— dr 10/10/2007 04:34 AM #
— Juan 10/10/2007 08:06 AM #
A racer is a racer is a racer. Schumacher and his ilk would do alright in taxi cab, but it sure would be fun to watch them struggle with it from the onset, being that, for the most part, F-1 types turn their noses up at the mere mention of stock cars.
— dr 10/10/2007 08:34 AM #
— miklos 10/10/2007 08:50 AM #
— Formula Fox 10/10/2007 10:41 AM #
— GRW 10/10/2007 10:58 AM #
— 4ever3 10/10/2007 03:42 PM #
And he won four races, three of them(Portland, Cleveland, Toronto) in a row. Those three races were also his first three races for the Forsythe team.
Whoa. Long comment, here. I get a bit long-winded sometimes. :P Of course get me started on what needs to be done to recreate a good open-wheel series in America(it doesn’t HAVE to be through unification, that’s just the easiest and probably best way) and you’d get something about as long as this article. OR longer.
— Formula Fox 10/10/2007 10:53 PM #
Anywho, I think that the open-wheelers coming to NASCAR is a great thing. For one, I don’t really care much for open wheel racing to begin with, so I like the extra competition that gets added to stock car racing as a result. I also like the added worldwide attention that NASCAR gets from it.
— Tim Zaegel 10/11/2007 02:44 PM #
— Tim Zaegel 10/11/2007 03:48 PM #