17 replies to this topic

[908/3]

Hello,

I just saw the 2008 Nascar standings and Montoya was classified outside the top 20 positions;
Franchitti didn't get great results as well - it was his rookie year anyway if I'm not wrong.
It seems that Jacques Villeneuve wanted to have a go at it but he opted for the Le Mans Series in Europe.

I know that Andretti and Gurney won Nascar races in the '60s, did any other drivers from other championships try to challenge the Nascar regulars in the past, and did they get any good results?
For sure it isn't easy at all, Montoya and Franchitti's CVs speak for theselves !

[RStock]

Jim Clark drove a Holman Moody Ford at Rockinham in 67 , scored a dnf . I believe Jackie Ickx competed in a NASCAR race once or twice also .

[Rob G]

This thread covers the F1 drivers who participated in NASCAR's top division, but it doesn't include many drivers who participated in CART, the IRL, or top sports car series like Al Unser Jr. or Tom Sneva.

(BTW, the link that HistoricMustang posted is no longer valid. The correct address is http://www.racing-re...info/driver.htm)

[RA Historian]

I believe that one of the last races Innes Ireland ever drove was the 1967 Daytona 500.
Tom

[McGuire]

Don't know why but Pedro Rodriguez is often overlooked in discussions of this topic... he ran a half dozen or so NASCAR Grand National races from 63 to 71... drove a Ray Nichels Pontiac at one point and finished 5th in the World 600 in a Holman Moody Ford. Holman Moody was hooked up for that race; Lorenzen won and Dick Hutcherson finished 3rd in the other two HM cars.

It is said that Big Bill France took a special liking to the Rodriguez brothers, Pedro especially. One of the turns in the infield road course at Daytona was named after him... I believe the first 180 right hander behind the new media center, aka the east horseshoe (Turn 4?). Don't know if it still is, haven't heard anyone call it by that name in years.

[Lee Nicolle]

Villenuve drove in the Nascar road race in Canada this year, though it was the second level competition.
The rain shortened race was won by Ron Hornaday though dominated by Marcus Ambrose though Jack was therabouts too.

[Jean L]

Jo Schlesser,Daytona 500 1964,13e.

[Team Result]

Originally posted by Lee Nicolle
Villenuve drove in the Nascar road race in Canada this year, though it was the second level competition.
The rain shortened race was won by Ron Hornaday though dominated by Marcus Ambrose though Jack was therabouts too.

And Marcos was 2003 and 2004 Australian Touring Car Champion (err, V8 Supercar Champion).

Other Australians who have raced Nascar are:

The legendary Frank Gardner was the first Australian to race in NASCAR’s premier Cup division, with one solitary race to his name in 1968 at the America 500 - completed 1 lap before flagged for engine.
Tony Spanos was next in 1987, recording an 18th place finish in the Cup race at Martinsville.
Allan Grice was next on the NASCAR scene, the former Bathurst 1000 winner running in the Coca Cola 600 Cup races at Charlotte in 1987 and 1989.
Terry Byers also raced in the 1989 Coca Cola 600, the first of five Cup races Byers ran during 1989 and 1990.
Three-time Bathurst 1000 winner and five-time Australian Touring Car Champion Dick Johnson was next to try his hand, racing seven times from 1989-90. Johnson held the best qualifying result by an Australian for a NASCAR Championship event with 11th for the Banquet 300 at the Sears Point International road course on 11 June 1989 until 17 June 2006 when Ambrose qualified second in Michigan, that mark bettered by pole in Kentucky on 8 July 2006.
1993 Le Mans 24 Hour winner Geoff Brabham qualified for the inaugural Brickyard 400 in 1994. The noted Sportscar and IndyCar driver was drafted in by Ford for the event, qualifying 18th of 59 cars attempting to qualify for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s first NASCAR event.

More recently former Australian karting and Speedcar (Midget) champion Adam Clarke raced twice in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2002.

(Source: www.marcosambrose.com)

On Marcos' website there is a namelist of non-US born drivers who have competed in Nascar, including M. Andretti (Italy). It also mentions that the fifth-place finish by Rodriguez in 1965 World 600 at Charlotte is considered best finish by a foreign-born driver who was not an American citizen

[RStock]

Originally posted by Team Result




On Marcos' website there is a namelist of non-US born drivers who have competed in Nascar, including M. Andretti (Italy). It also mentions that the fifth-place finish by Rodriguez in 1965 World 600 at Charlotte is considered best finish by a foreign-born driver who was not an American citizen

But when we say American , we mean USA citizen , right ? Is Juan Pablo a citizen of the USA now ?

[Todd]

Originally posted by 908/3
Hello,

I just saw the 2008 Nascar standings and Montoya was classified outside the top 20 positions;
Franchitti didn't get great results as well - it was his rookie year anyway if I'm not wrong.
It seems that Jacques Villeneuve wanted to have a go at it but he opted for the Le Mans Series in Europe.

I know that Andretti and Gurney won Nascar races in the '60s, did any other drivers from other championships try to challenge the Nascar regulars in the past, and did they get any good results?
For sure it isn't easy at all, Montoya and Franchitti's CVs speak for theselves !

Tony Stewart was an IRL champion before entering NASCAR. I don't believe he had stock car experience prior to spending a season or two in the Busch series as a tune up for Winston Cup. Jeff Gordon came up through sprint cars. I think the key to success is not going straight to Cup. The drivers there are too good for someone to come in who has to learn the cars and the tracks in addition to race management while trying to compete with them.

[McGuire]

One of the most successful of the "outsiders" to race in NASCAR must be A.J. Foyt... so successful in fact that it is difficult to think of him as an outsider, even though he generally ran no more than a half-dozen NASCAR events a year. But he still managed to rack up two Firecracker 400 wins, a Daytona 500, and victories at Atlanta and Riverside (also the site of one of his worst crashes).

Speaking of Riverside and NASCAR irregulars... in the Riverside season finale in 1963, the field included Dave MacDonald, Augie Pabst, Ken Miles, and Skip Hudson.

Other "outsider" competitors in the Riverside NASCAR events through the years included Parnelli Jones ('67 winner), Dick Gulstrand, Jerry Grant, Jim Hurtubise, Mario Andretti, Lloyd Ruby, Gordon Johncock, Jerry Titus, Al Unser, Roger McCluskey, Lothar Motsenbacher, Ron Grable, Mark Donohue ('73 winner), Gary Bettenhausen, George Follmer, Al Holbert, Rocky Moran Sr, Don Whittington, Elliott Forbes-Robinson, Clay Young, Jim Fitzgerald, Irv Hoerr, Tommy Kendall... obviously, the era allowed far more inter-disciplinary competition than we have today.

Of course, the most successful NASCAR carpetbagger at Riverside was Dan Gurney, who won five races in nine starts there, including four Motor Trend 500s in a row. In the mid-'60s he and the Wood Brothers just flat owned Riverside.

[TrackDog]

Didn't Brian Redman drive a stock car at Pocono in the mid
'70's?


Dan

[Jim Thurman]

Originally posted by TrackDog
Didn't Brian Redman drive a stock car at Pocono in the mid
'70's?

Yes, but that was a USAC Stock Car race.

That's a good list at the Ambrose site. One correction though, Roy Smith was a four time champion of NASCAR's Western series, not Busch.

Every list always leaves out Eduardo Dibos (Peru), who raced in the inaugural Daytona 500.

McGuire's list of Riverside is a good one. One could compile a similar list for Daytona. There have been a lot of Indy drivers race at Daytona. Riverside also attracted some Cal Club road racers to the NASCAR '500'.

A lot of that (for both races) had to do with being on the FIA International Calendar, so drivers from other series could compete in them.

[jm70]

I remember when Nels Miller ran the Riverside NASCAR race. It took the whole first DAY to get the car through tech. Nothing wrong with the car, just the NASCAR way to indoctrinate a new guy. Anyone else remember that name?

[AlMark]

Al Holbert dipped his toe in the waters at Charlotte in 1976. He was a semi-regular in the 1978 season driving for James Hylton. His best finishes were a 7th at Darlington and an 8th at Riverside. In 1979 he ran 6 races sponsored by Holbert Porsche-Audi in his familiar SUNOCO Blue. The best finish was an 8th at Charlotte.

The versatile George Follmer had 20 NASCAR starts over 6 seasons from 1972-1987. There are a ton of others who dabbled including Vic Elford.

[Jesper O. Hansen]

Claude Ballot-Lena and Lella Lombardi had a few starts betwin them, but as with the other guest drivers mentioned here, I'm asking why did they appear in NASCAR?

Jesper

[AlMark]

Claude Ballot-Lena and Lella Lombardi had a few starts betwin them, but as with the other guest drivers mentioned here, I'm asking why did they appear in NASCAR?

Jesper

In cases like that I'm sure they were coming to Daytona for the 24 Hrs., someone offered them a ride, and they stayed for the Daytona 500. Similarly when the 24 Hrs. was an FIA race some of the NASCAR types would come early and drve in it.

Gil

[RStock]

Claude Ballot-Lena and Lella Lombardi had a few starts betwin them, but as with the other guest drivers mentioned here, I'm asking why did they appear in NASCAR?

Jesper

Lella Lombardi only had one NASCAR start that I know of . It was the 1977 Firecracker 400 , which is held on the 4th of July , so she wasn't there for the 24 hour race . Lella , Janet Guthrie and Christine Beckers all started the race , all scoring DNF's , Lella lasting the longest going out on lap 104 with mechanical problems . The women were tendered the invite as a promotional stunt .

As for why they and others mentioned appeared in NASCAR , well , they were true racers who loved to compete no matter what the class .