NASCAR Goes Global
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by J Cunningham
Used to be, the NASCAR Nextel -- back then, Winston -- Cup Series was as exclusive a club as you could find. Drivers -- white males predominently from the southeastern U.S. wrestling 3,400-pound machines around bullrings and speedways for everyone to watch and appreciate -- and, okay, get liquored up on.
Petty, Earnhardt, Yarborough, Johnson, Allison, Elliott, Pearson, Parsons ... easily a Good Ol' Boys Club if ever there was one.
But once the 1990s came, that started to change. Ernie Irvan swooped in from California; 1992 series champion Alan Kulwicki from Wisconsin. Then came Jeff Gordon -- born in California, grew up in Indiana. Robby Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick -- from California. Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart ... Indiana. Kasey Kahne and Greg Biffle, the state of Washington. NASCAR has grown nationally in terms of driver talent in the past two decades, which while irksome to some fans -- you'd be amazed how many fans hate Jeff Gordon simply because he's not Southern -- was a undeniable fact.
These guys were good, sponsors loved them ... so they raced
But thanks to a little guy by the name of Juan Pablo Montoya, a new trend has taken over the Nextel Cup Series -- international drivers. It's not enough to say there's an open-wheel influx anymore -- Jeff and Robby Gordon, Stewart, Newman and Kahne all come from open-wheel backgrounds -- now, it's a matter of racers from other countries coming to a sport that was once exclusively American.
And it's no coincidence this movement coincides with Toyota's inclusion in the sport.
Montoya, a former Indianapolis 500 champion and Monaco Grand Prix winner in Formula One, has more than held his own on the Nextel Cup circuit, competing week in and week out. He won his first Cup race at the road course at Sonoma, and any day now we could see him in Victory Lane on an oval. Yes, he's been too aggressive at times and has feuded with a couple guys -- Harvick, mainly -- but make no mistake: Montoya is a NASCAR star, and he's signaling a change.
Consider:
--Australian Marcos Ambrose is in the running for Busch Series Rookie of the Year, and nearly won his first career race last month in Montreal.
--Former CART and Formula One driver Jacques Villeneuve, a Canadian, will make his NASCAR debut this season with Bill Davis Racing in the Craftsman Truck Series. Undoubtedly, the goal will be to eventually have Villeneuve run Cup races.
--CART veteran Patrick Carpentier of Canada ran his first NASCAR Busch Series race last month in Montreal, finishing second before making his Nextel Cup debut at Watkins Glen. Some speculate he'll run the full Busch schedule next season.
--IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti of Scotland is in negotiations with Chip Ganassi to drive full-time in the Nextel Cup Series next year, driving the No. 40 Dodge made famous by "Good Ol' Boy" Sterling Marlin. Franchitti, who also won this year's Indy 500, cites money, exposure and safety as a reason for considering the move.
--According to ESPN.com's Terry Blount, English-born IRL driver -- and former Indy 500 champion -- Dan Wheldon wanted Ganassi to put him in the full-time Cup ride, but the car owner decided to keep him in the IRL for at least another year.
--Blount also says three-time defending Champ Car Series champ Sebastian Bourdais, from France, considered NASCAR offers before ultimately deciding to race for Toro Rosso in Formula One.
Ignoring the fact that these guys are all open-wheel stars -- because then we'd have to add American Sam Hornish Jr. to the equation -- it's clear that NASCAR, at least competition-wise, is going international. Some of the traditional die-hards might not like it, but the fact remains: NASCAR touts itself as the 43 best drivers in the world firing up the engines every weekend and fighting for the checkered flag.
Note the phrase in the world -- that's not just PR talk anymore, it's coming true.
And let's be perfectly honest: in America, no form of motorsport is more popular than NASCAR. Not the Champ Car Series (formerly CART), not the IndyCar Series ... NASCAR. A lot of that has to do with the CART/IRL split of 1995; before then, open-wheel racing was king in America.
Worldwide, nothing tops Formula One ... but like soccer, it's almost irrelevant here in the States. That's likely because live TV coverage is on at odd hours on this side of the Atlantic, the racing isn't deemed as "exciting," and without a marquee American star, there's no real reason for U.S. gearheads to take notice.
In America, we like the NFL and NASCAR. Everywhere else likes soccer and F1.
So naturally, NASCAR has the money and the exposure. Money isn't a question for Formula One drivers -- I recall two years ago where Michael Shumacher outgrossed Tiger Woods in total earnings that year -- nor is exposure. But notice the names I listed above. Aside from Montoya and Villeneuve, they're all former CART and IRL drivers. With American open-wheel racing waning in popularity and NASCAR on a constant rise, it's no wonder the big stars are flocking to cars with roofs.
The safety factor is also important, as Franchitti noted. NASCAR will run the Car of Tomorrow full-time in 2008, which will mean slower speeds, more crash-friendly bodies. All Nextel Cup tracks are equipped with energy-absorbing SAFER barriers and since speeds are lower in stock cars, crashes won't be quite as hard. Not only that, but -- and Franchitti will love this -- a stock car is much harder to flip end-over-end than an open-wheel car.
So lots of money, tons of exposure and safer race cars ... who wouldn't want to make the switch?
I'll tell you who won't like it, though: a lot of NASCAR fans, and CART and IRL.
The IRL seems to be on the cusp of national prominence, but still fights for attention whenever Danica Patrick isn't on the verge of winning of throwing a tantrum. For the IRL to keep growing, it can't have its champions and stars flocking to NASCAR. Franchitti leaving, and Wheldon wanting to leave, does nothing to help the IndyCar Series.
Likewise, CART suffers. Canadian Paul Tracy tried NASCAR for a bit, only to find he couldn't handle it. But the fact is, he tried ... and last year, young phenom A.J. Allmendinger won three straight Champ Car races. This year, he's running for Team Red Bull in the Nextel Cup Series, and though he's struggling, he's still getting more money and more exposure than he did as a winner and contender in the open-wheel ranks.
Now, the fans ... remember earlier when I said fans would boo Jeff Gordon for simply not being Southern? Sounded pretty retarded, didn't it? Well, take that "logic," and throw an international driver into the mix. If stereotypical redneck NASCAR fan don't like no Indiana boy knockin' paint with Dale Earnhardt Jr., what do you think they'll think of a Frenchman doing the same? They're not going to like it. I know it's stupid, you know it's stupid, but that's the way it is. NASCAR has gone corporate and in many ways shook loose of its Southern roots, but a lot of the Southern fan base remains and most of them are ... let's just say unsophisticated.
Personally, I say let the international drivers come. If they can learn the cars and be competitive and successful, then that's great. NASCAR grows even more, these drivers have another viable outlet for their careers and everyone benefits. NASCAR stands for the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing.
Notice it doesn't say which nation.
