22 replies to this topic

[HistoryFan]

With Jimmie Johnson could race in IndyCar in the near future I wonder why there were so less NASCAR stars driving in IndyCar.

 

Let's have a look at the 10 drivers with most NASCAR Cup wins:

1. Richard Petty 200

2. David Pearson 105

3. Jeff Gordon 93

4. Bobby Allison 84

5. Darrell Waltrip 84

6 Jimmie Johnson 83

7. Cale Yarborough 83

8. Dale Earnhardt 76

9. Kyle Busch 56

10. Rusty Wallace 55

 

Only Bobby Allison and Cale Yarborough drove IndyCar:

Allison had 6 races with Penske in a McLaren-Offenhauser (6th in Ontario 1976, 2x Indy 500)

Yarborough had 13 races, 4 times Indy 500, was 10th in the Indy 500 in 1972 with an Atlanta-Ford for Gene White, zwo top-5-finishes.

 

I wonder why Richard Petty or Dale Earnhardt never took the chance to drive the Indy 500?

Were there ever talks about that?

 

Petty had an entry as team owner for John Andretti from 2009 to 2011, 2009 in connection with Dreyer-&-Reinbold Racing, 2010 and 2011 with Andretti Team.

 

Why do you think the NASCAR stars like Petty and Earnhardt never drove IndyCar or even the Indy 500?

 

Kyle Busch perhaps could race in Indy 500 like his brother Kurt did in 2014 with Andretti. Team Carpenter seems interested in running Kyle Busch.

 

 

[Henri Greuter]

One of the main reasons as of why it never happened that often is that the NASCAR boys had their own championship to focus on, and there was a mighty important race within that championship, as well as a very prestigious one often on the same day as Indy took place. Preparing, practicing etc for Indy was a chore for them to fit within theire program and still remain focussed on their own championship.

 

On the other hand, there are several cases of NASCAR drivers who stated that open cockpits were not their thing compared with the roof and rollcage around them.

And some also have spoken about the even higehr speeds than in NASCAR also being a concern for them, sometimes in combination with the statement above.

 

I don't know which Petty you refer to in your latest question but if my memory serves me well, Richard admitted so much that open cockpit and the speeds were noo much for him to deal with compared with the relative safety of a closed car.

[HistoryFan]

I don't know which Petty you refer to in your latest question but if my memory serves me well, Richard admitted so much that open cockpit and the speeds were noo much for him to deal with compared with the relative safety of a closed car.

 

yes, Richard Petty was the Petty I looked for.

 

Interesting that he even fielded 3 cars at the Indy 500 as team owner.

[maximilian]

Maybe because most NASCAR drivers simply aren't good enough to compete in IndyCar? 

 

Tongue in cheek, but one reason might be that the NASCAR schedule is super full, leaving very little opportunity to try run another series?  Including conflicts with the Indy 500 (though some "Doubles" were attempted) - all not ideal.

[jonpollak]

Didn’t Janet Guthrie race NASCAR before she qualified for the Indy 500? But was that before she raced ANY Indycar race?

Jp

[Risil]

Is it as simple as which era you raced in? 1960s: Petty and Pearson, no. 1970s: Yarborough and Allison, yes. 1980s: Earnhardt and Waltrip, no. 1990s: Gordon and Wallace, no. 2000s: Johnson and Busch, possibly yes.

 

In the 60s and 70s did top-level NASCAR drivers mostly do NASCAR or were they also dipping into USAC, sports cars, midgets, etc?

[BiggestBuddyLazierFan]

Cale Yarborough once said that driving an Indycar is like dancing with a chainsaw. I guess other NASCAR drivers shared the same sentiment.

[vactrac]

Earnhardt was told by GM Goodwrench in 1992 that they weren't willing to sponsor him in CART, so he didn't switch. My source for that was an article I can't find anymore about GM's near-bankruptcy that year.

[HistoryFan]

Maybe because most NASCAR drivers simply aren't good enough to compete in IndyCar? 

 

Kurt Busch had 1 run in 2014 and finished 6th in the Indy 500. So I think they are good enough.

[ensign14]

Mario Andretti drove stocks before he drove Indycars...

 

One thing to bear in mind was the NASCAR season, right from the off, was full-on.  Whereas the Champcar was not.  Basically Indy and half-a-dozen other races.  It meant that AAA/USAC had spare time to run a stock car series as well, which many of the best Champcar took part in.  And with Daytona and Riverside happening before anyone else's season took place, you have Champcar drivers, machinery with which they were familiar, and spare time.

 

On the other way around, you had stock car racers who were racing most weekends in stock cars, and simply did not have the time to get used to a different style of driving.  Had NASCAR's Speedway division taken off, then perhaps things would have been different, as the NASCAR bods would have had open-wheel experience. 

[messy]

I might be getting the culture of US racing wrong here so if I am then please tell me - but I think people think of NASCAR and Indycar as two completely independent entities - different fan bases, different approaches, different drivers, different careers. Not saying people don’t like both - but in Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, that area, NASCAR is king whereas maybe in other places less so. I think a lot of NASCAR fans have little interest in Indycar and even look down on it a bit while maybe in the West lots of people see NASCAR as a bit of a silly redneck circus?

That said it’s always surprised me that there’s not more overlap in terms of the drivers (especially when teams like Penske and Ganassi do both). Are they put off by the lack of success people like Dario Franchitti and Danica Patrick had? In the former case there, you had a top, top, benchmark Indycar driver switching codes while staying within the same team, a recipe for success on paper, and he did nothing. In the latter a fairly successful Indycar driver with a huge amount of hype, who became almost a laughing stock for her lack of success and excuses. In neither case then, much of a “you can do this and be successful” message to others who might have been interested. But still, you get drivers like Hinchcliffe and Pagenaud very vocally registering their interest in switching to NASCAR in the future.

On the other hand, NASCAR drivers only seem interested in doing the Indy 500 really don’t they? And Kurt Busch made it look amazingly easy. Montoya too, managed to switch back to Indycar and be right up to speed from the start (I know he’s a bit of a unique case though)

[Jim Thurman]

There are a couple of other important factors here that are being overlooked. While the NASCAR schedule was massive, 40-50 races in seasons as far back as the 1950s, the top drivers did not compete in all of them, or in many cases, most of them. Many drivers just competed in the major events on the superspeedways. Even with the paring down of the schedule in the early 1970s, it was a 31 race schedule, which was far more manageable. Even into the 1980s, some top drivers/teams had part-time schedules.

 

Cale Yarborough, LeeRoy Yarbrough and the Allison brothers all found themselves in USAC Championship racing primarily because of the manufacturers leaving NASCAR in the early 1970s. Uncertainty and better purses pushed them that direction. Don't overlook tire company contracts playing a factor at the time as well.

 

Then there was the ongoing battle between sanctioning bodies, USAC and NASCAR. As late as 1971, USAC threatened drivers with suspension for competing in NASCAR events. In late 1963, they did so to Paul Goldsmith (another who did both). Goldsmith took legal action, which he lost, but his lawsuit helped lead to better co-operation via the ACCUS calendar. Obviously, there were still scrapes, as mentioned for the 1971 incident.

 

But, there also have been other drivers that did both, some quite obscure. Just for two who weren't, Tim Richmond started out in CART and Ken Schrader attempted to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 before making the switch to NASCAR. There's also Bobby Johns, and others...

[maximilian]

Kurt Busch had 1 run in 2014 and finished 6th in the Indy 500. So I think they are good enough.

 

He did very well, but running a single oval in a top team with optimal preparation isn't necessarily an accurate indicator how he might have done on a road course, for example.  But he did very well, all things considered, and shame he wasn't able to finish the 1100.

[Jim Thurman]

Didn’t Janet Guthrie race NASCAR before she qualified for the Indy 500? But was that before she raced ANY Indycar race?
 

To answer your question, jp, Janet Guthrie made her first Indycar start 28 days before her NASCAR debut. I had to look that up. I recalled she was doing races in both series, and I thought she ran a USAC Championship race first, but I wasn't sure. She raced in both series in 1976, 1977 and 1978. 

[TennisUK]

Had NASCAR's Speedway division taken off, then perhaps things would have been different, 

You learn something new every day, I'd never even heard of this (not that I have much NASCAR knowledge at all).

[427MkIV]

One reason in the past couple of decades is there's so much more money in NASCAR. No incentive for NASCAR drivers to switch. I wish more would.

[HistoryFan]

He did very well, but running a single oval in a top team with optimal preparation isn't necessarily an accurate indicator how he might have done on a road course, for example. 

That's why I think Jimmie Johnson will not be very good in his IndyCar attempt. perhaps he will notice that after the test and won't race in an event.
 

[Kalmake]

Topic reminded me of this video of Jimmie Johnson and Rick Mears talking about the differences of the cars at Indy.

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=-TErqOoh3Vw

[HistoryFan]

John Menard offered a drive in Indy to Dale Earnhardt in the mid-90s:

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=ovNa0QjXhhc

[jonpollak]

Here's a star of BOTH Indycar and NASCAR.

The lovely and talented Jamie Little talking to the one and only Donald Davidson

 

 

Jp

[B Squared]

Back in the late '60s and early '70s I remember Richard Petty hanging on the pitlane fence at Indianapolis watching practice for the "500". Country legend and part time NASCAR driver Marty Robbins was another.

[paulb]

What an interesting interview! Thanks for posting it, jon.

[jonpollak]

She's a peach

I've always loved her.

Jp