Columns

NASCAR gets bigger taste of foreign flavor

By JOHN ROMANO, Times Columnist
Published February 8, 2008

Juan Pablo Montoya, left, with 2007 Indy series champ Dario Franchitti, says NASCAR is more exciting than Formula One.
	[AP photo]

ADVERTISEMENT [AP photo] Dario Franchitti, left, says that five years ago, he never would have thought stock car racing would be an option for him.

DAYTONA BEACH - They are set up to fail. Not just struggle, but fail.

They have money, they have talent, they have confidence, and still they have little hope of cracking NASCAR's top 10 this season, let alone challenge for the Cup title.

So why are these open-wheel racers turning the Daytona 500 into the next stop off Ellis Island?

They are coming from Europe. From South America. From Quebec. Forget the woods of Carolina, Jeff Gordon could pass for a hillbilly in this crowd.

Once qualifying ends next week, there is a chance there will be as many former Indianapolis 500 winners in the starting grid as there are Daytona 500 winners.

And not one of them is considered a serious contender.

So why are they fleeing the sport that made them rich men?

Most say it is simply the challenge. The thrill of trying something new.

Which is a nice, diplomatic explanation. And it completely bypasses certain realities.

Like, for starters, open-wheel racing has committed a form of self-mutilation by splitting into competing leagues for more than a decade. Or that NASCAR's innovations have made stock cars the safer machines.

And, if you think this sort of thing interests drivers, the trunk full of cash to be had in the States.

"Open-wheel teams are struggling," Ryan Newman said. "They've been struggling since they split up."

Even with NASCAR recently hitting a popularity speed bump, Juan Pablo Montoya said there is no longer any comparison in the passion, and the excitement, between the two racing styles.

"People in F1 think, 'We are F1 and there is nothing above us or beside us.' To tell you the truth, as a sport for a fan, this is 10 times better than Formula One," Montoya said. "Not to disrespect F1 - the cars are amazing, they are fast, the way they're built is amazing. But go to a place like Sepang. If you're following one driver, you'll see the car for about five seconds and, then you wait a minute and a half to see him again."

This is not the first time open-wheel drivers have toyed with NASCAR. Mario Andretti popped in to win the Daytona 500 in 1967 and, five years later, A.J. Foyt did the same.

But those were almost larks. One-shot deals that reinforced the notion of open-wheel drivers as the more sophisticated and talented performers.

When Montoya left Formula One last season to become a NASCAR rookie, it completely changed the dynamics. He was not taking a test spin. He was not seeking publicity. He was putting his career in the hands of NASCAR, and it suddenly made stock car racing seem more viable in Europe and elsewhere.

"It was three or four years ago when I started thinking I'd like to try that," said 2007 Indy series champion Dario Franchitti. "At that time, it seemed so improbable. Then, three years ago, I started thinking how I could make it happen. Two years ago, I started actually doing some things about it. It's been a gradual process.

"Am I surprised? Five years ago I never would have thought it would happen. Now, it's not such a surprise, I guess."

For all the open-wheel champions heading to NASCAR - Montoya was the CART series champion in 1999, Franchitti was the IndyCar series champion in '07, Sam Hornish Jr. is a three-time IRL champion and Jacques Villenueve has won CART and Formula One titles - none is arriving with grandiose expectations.

At least not yet.

Montoya finished 20th in the points standings and won one race last season, and that was considered wildly successful.

"I said to Sam Hornish, 'You always said it was a different world, and I didn't really believe you,' " Franchitti said. "As soon as I got in the car, I thought, 'Sam was right.' "

The differences in how the cars handle, the door-to-door racing and having an intuitive sense of what type of mechanical adjustments must be made during a race are just part of the problem.

There is also the sense of needing to prove yourself in someone else's world. Nobody disputed Montoya's abilities, but there was some griping about the aggressive way he drove for a rookie.

Kevin Harvick recently suggested open-wheel racers would have been better off trying the Nationwide or the Truck series for a year or two before jumping into NASCAR's elite division.

The open-wheel guys are obviously not in agreement, but they understand they have chosen to put themselves at the bottom of a new food chain.

"I don't have an ego problem. I know what I've done in the past, I've always been a person who didn't sit in the past," Villenueve said. "This is a new challenge I have to learn from ground zero. It's the same way I was when I started racing. It is challenging, it can be frustrating, it is stressful. But at the same time once it works out, like it will, it will be more rewarding."

Speedweeks

Highlights

Saturday - Sprint Cup Bud Shootout, 8:30 p.m.

Sunday - Daytona 500 qualifying, 1:15 p.m.

Thursday - Sprint Cup Gatorade Duels (twin 150-mile qualifying races), 2 p.m.

Feb. 15 - Truck series Chevy Silverado 250 race (100 laps, 250 miles), 8 p.m.

Feb. 16 - Nationwide series Camping World 300 (120 laps, 300 miles), 1:15 p.m.

Feb. 17 - Sprint Cup Daytona 500 (200 laps, 500 miles), 3:30 p.m.

Daytona International Speedway

[Last modified February 7, 2008, 23:08:36]