Comments on: An Offer They Can’t Refuse?

By: Mazdaspeed

Mazdaspeed — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 17:31:26 +0000

I don’t foresee any NASCAR drivers who are in the Chase participating in Las Vegas. Unless AJ is in the Chase, I think he’s viable because of Richard Petty’s participation in the Indy 500 for the past couple of years. Other than that, who knows?

By: Brian McKay

Brian McKay — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 22:10:01 +0000

I hope so.

By: Andy

Andy — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 21:16:31 +0000

Great offer. NASCAR is in Charlotte and F1 is scheduled to be in Korea that weekend. Not too logical

By: Bent Wickerbill

Bent Wickerbill — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 17:35:41 +0000

I agree with Gurney Eagle…. If the herd continues to thin at the rate it is now, RB better save his pesos for tea funding…

By: Steve K

Steve K — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 16:22:16 +0000

He said easier than a stock car. That is a comparison. He never said driving an IndyCar was easy.

By: The Speedgeek

The Speedgeek — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 18:20:04 +0000

Kyle Busch appears in Toyota TV ads. Therefore, I’d say there’s about a 0% chance that he’ll be able to do this in a Honda-engined vehicle, same as there’s a 0% chance of seeing any of the other Gibbs drivers (the top Toyota team), any of the Roush guys (in bed with Ford since the early-’80s), any of the Hendrick drivers (including Kahne, who’s already under contract to Hendrick), both of the SHR drivers (a team started directly with GM dollars), and probably any of the RCR guys (probably, though not definitely, locked down with GM cash). I’m thinking that those teams, being the flagship teams for their respective manufacturers, probably have pretty restrictive contracts. We’ll have to look under that top tier of drivers for anybody who might consider making the attempt. Thus, I’d say the best bets are the Penske and Ganassi guys (both of whom are fairly independent in the NASCAR world), the RPM guys (Allmendinger, especially), or a complete independent like Robby Gordon.

This isn’t to say that this will be like this forever. As the gravy train dries up a bit in NASCAR, I’d think that the restrictions in contracts will start to come out for guys who want to try other forms of motorsports. If this $5 million thing can stay in place for 3-4 years, maybe we’ll see more NASCAR guys giving it a try.

By: Brian McKay

Brian McKay — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 06:21:32 +0000

All I had to do was Google search for five seconds.

July 19, 2009 Wind Tunnel With Dave Despain:
“I’ve never driven an Indy car, but apparently it’s a lot easier to get out of a stock car and get in an Indy car and be successful or competitive than it is to get out of an Indy car and get into a stock car. Seems like it is much more difficult to go from, like Dario, to go from an Indy car to a stock car and doesn’t seem to be able to make that transition. But Tony Stewart has been able to jump back and forth.”

elsewhere, regarding Whanica: “These stock cars are pretty brutal, they’re hot, they’re hard to handle. She’s used to sitting out there in all that fresh air. Now you’ve got to sit behind an 850-horsepower monster. I’d say the monster would win.” (D.W.)
boogity, boogity

By: Mike Silver

Mike Silver — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 19:10:43 +0000

He said this on Wind Tunnel. I think it was the same show where he said NCAR invented the wheel.

By: Gurney Eagle

Gurney Eagle — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 19:02:24 +0000

Are Dan Wheldon and Tony Kanaan now eligible for the $5 million?

By: Simon Garfunkel

Simon Garfunkel — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 18:38:57 +0000

Not sure when DW said they were easy to drive but it sounds like him. I do remember him saying that the half season that Franchitti spent in Nascar made him a better driver and is why he won the Indycar title in 2009.