Many old-school NASCAR fans remember the days when Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt, and Bobby Unser would occasionally make an appearance in a stock car race. Nowadays, some former open-wheel racers are yearning for more than just a handful of NASCAR starts. Former Champ Car stars Michel Jourdain Jr and Paul Tracy have each decided to endeavor in a stock car racing career.
Back in the 1960's and 1970's, several open-wheel luminaries would occasionally hit the asphalt of a stock car event. The likes of Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt, and Bobby Unser would appear in selected stock car races, but their mainstay was open-wheel racing.
Nowadays, some of NASCAR's most proverbial faces are open-wheel graduates. Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon, Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne, and Casey Mears are all rooted back to open-wheel racing in some form. Throughout the years, drivers such as John Andretti, Christian Fittipaldi, and Scott Pruett have made an attempt at NASCAR prominence. And now, after watching the Busch Series race in Mexico City, other drivers from open-wheel racing are taking a stab at stock car racing.
After nine solid seasons in the Champ Car Series, Michel Jourdain Jr decided to crossover to stock car racing. Last season, Jourdain competed in 20 NASCAR Busch Series events for ppc Racing and scored only one top ten finish, which came at Atlanta last March. In his 20 starts, Jourdain recorded six DNF's, which is evidence that the conversion to stock car racing has been a daunting task.
Also from Champ Car, the flamboyant Canadian driver Paul Tracy has decided to try his hand in the NASCAR Busch Series this year. Over the last several years, the 2003 Champ Car World Series champion has flirted with the notion of racing stock cars, but it wasn't until recently when it finally came to fruition. In 2006, Tracy is expected to race in selected events for Frank Cicci Racing/Jim Kelly and possibly the Biagi Brothers. After two Busch Series starts, it is way too premature to distinguish whether Tracy will enjoy success in stock cars or not. But one thing is for certain; Tracy will put on a good show.
Many believe that it is just a matter of time before other recognizable names from open-wheel racing will elect to join the NASCAR family. Dan Wheldon, Danica Patrick, and Sam Hornish have intermittently been rumored to become the latest to depart from open-wheel racing.
With drivers such as Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, and Ryan Newman having instantaneous success in NASCAR, many powerhouse organizations have recently scouted younger drivers from the USAC series instead of drivers from the conventional local Saturday night late model series. Gordon, Stewart, and Newman have helped pave the way for up and coming drivers such as Kasey Kahne and J.J. Yeley.
Unfortunately, not all drivers bred from open-wheel racing are going to be able to adjust to the heavier stock cars.
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