NASCAR: Open Wheel Invasion

When 1997 IRL Champion Tony Stewart bolted open wheel racing for NASCAR, a year later he set a big precedent in the process.  Stewart won the 1999 NASCAR Rookie of the Year and quickly progressed into one of the best drivers on the circuit.  He has 32 career victories and won Cup Series Championships in 2002 and 2005. 

It took another open wheel driver by the name of Juan Pablo Montoya to escalate the trend.  Prior to the 2007 NASCAR season, Montoya shocked the racing community when he decided to leave Formula One and sign with Chip Ganassi Racing and drive in the Cup Series.  Montoya was already an established star in Formula One winning a CART Championship in 1999 and the Indy 500 in 2000. 

The 2007 season was Montoya’s first season in NASCAR, and it was successful as he won a Busch race in Mexico City, a Cup Series race at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA, and took home Rookie of the Year honors at the end of the season.  For the most part, however, Montoya was mediocre and simply looked lost at times, especially on oval tracks.

Montoya had mild success in 2007, but he essentially opened the flood gates for other drivers around the world who were also up for a challenge.  Stars like Sam Hornish, Jr., a three-time IRL Champion and Indy 500 winner, Dario Franchitti, the 2007 IRL Champion and Indy 500 winner, and Jacques Villanueve have all decided to bolt to NASCAR.  Patrick Carpentier and A.J. Allmendinger have also made the transition. 

The reasoning behind the influx of drivers switching to NASCAR is relatively simple.  NASCAR offers more fanfare, double the amount of races, increased media exposure, potential endorsement deals, and more money for their drivers.  The positives far outweigh the negatives.

Being successful in NASCAR, however, is a whole different story.  Expect the open wheelers to have a great deal of difficulty making the jump.  Expect them to struggle qualifying for races, destroy a few cars, and accumulate multiple sub-par finishes just like Montoya. 

NASCAR is a totally different animal from what open wheel racers are used to.  The NASCAR Cup Series is grueling. 

In 2007, there were 36 races over a span of only 41 weeks.  By comparison in 2007, both the IndyCar Series and Formula One Series were only 17 races long.  41 weeks of racing takes a toll physically and mentally on even the most experienced drivers.  The tracks themselves present a problem in that the open wheel racers have limited or no experience at all on the NASCAR tracks. 

The biggest challenge, however, is getting used to the actual car itself. 

Being able to communicate how the car feels and relaying the information back to the crew chief is a crucial tool used by experienced drivers to identify potential problems, change set-ups to accumulate more speed, improve down force, and to save time in the pits.  Also, NASCAR’s Car of Tomorrow weighs around 3,400 pounds, whereas a typical Formula One or IndyCar checks in around 1,300-1,700 pounds. 

The drivers will sit up in their cockpit about a foot and a half higher from the ground.  Also, the Car of Tomorrow is roughly 30-40 mph slower than the open wheel machines.  All this comes into play when handling the car, hitting ideal race lines on the track, determining breaking patterns, gauging distance, etc.

The open wheel drivers will figure it out eventually, as they are simply too talented not to succeed.  It will take a few years for them to compete on a high level consistently.  The learning curve is steep. Tony Stewart made the transition look easy, but he is the exception to the rule.  The new crop of drivers will have to pay their dues. 

Gentlemen, start your learning experience.