In the wake of the news that Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso will be running the Indianapolis 500, the topic of ride swapping was at the forefront of the NASCAR conversation Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway.
“I’d love to see a guy like Marco Andretti come and run Daytona,” said Kurt Busch, who ran the 2014 Indianapolis 500 with Andretti Autosport (pictured above) and finished sixth. “I think that would be a huge event for him, for our sport.”
Daytona would be perfect, Busch said, because Andretti loves the draft and being around other cars. The style of a restrictor-plate track would suit him. But Busch acknowledged it would be hard for Andretti to master a car in one try. Just as Busch said he didn’t when he jumped into an IndyCar, and as he expects will be the same for Alonso in his attempt.
Two-time world champion Alonso sent shockwaves through the motorsports world last week with the announcement he would not participate in the Monaco Grand Prix in favor of a run in the Indianapolis 500. It will be his first race on an oval track.
A few open-wheel drivers like Tony Stewart, Juan Pablo Montoya, Dario Franchitti and Danica Patrick have left IndyCar for NASCAR. It was a success for Stewart, who won three championships and 49 races before retiring at the end of 2016. Montoya earned two wins but wasn’t nearly as successful as he has been in open-wheel cars.
Franchitti also stumbled and after breaking his ankle in an Xfinity Series race and eventually went back to IndyCar. Patrick has made a career in NASCAR but now in her fifth full year has yet to win a race or make the playoffs. She has six career top-10 finishes and understands how challenging make the change is.
“With Indy cars, you could show up with a car – if you are equipped to build and make a nice car – then you could be competitive,” said Patrick (pictured). “But in NASCAR, I don’t see that being even possible, for someone to just show up with a car. There’s too much evaluation of the tricks and bells and whistles and all the things it takes to be fast in stock car racing that you wouldn’t know.
“Stock car racing is hard. Being a driver, it’s tough, but it’s really hard from a lot of other perspectives. It’s about having all your ducks in a row. You’ve got to have the right people, the right effort, the right belief, the right everything, luck on your side. The stars have to align in NASCAR.”
Seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson has always had a fascination with attempting the Indianapolis 500 but said his window has now closed on that. The deal he made with wife Chandra was that it had to happen before they had children, which Johnson now has two of.
But like many others, he’s excited to watch Alonso, or any driver, get the opportunity to run in a different event.
“I have always been a fan of Alonso,” Johnson said. “It’s been very entertaining on and off the track. I love his tenacity. I’m shocked to see that he’s going to pull it off and eager to see how he does. I think we all wonder how different drivers would fare in different series and I think it’ll be very cool to watch.”
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