As has been said, Sportsman/GrandNational/Busch/Nationwide (and Trucks) function as both development series and as destination series for those not moneyed or talented enough to stay in Cup. As NASCAR rose in the 1990s, sponsors started funding Cup drivers in Busch Grand National in order to get their name on a well-known driver’s car. They did this for at least one of two reasons, to be associated with a Cup driver at a cheaper rate and/or to be on the hood of a car driven by a Cup driver who had an unrelinquishing full-season sponsor in Cup. More sponsorship and more recognition for star drivers was good for Busch and for NASCAR as a whole, so they saw no reason to discourage this unless/until it stopped working.

IndyCar regulars would be invading Indy Lights with regularity if there were sponsors interested in paying them to be there. It seems unlikely that will ever happen.

So why not have the drivers with limited experience either on ovals or road courses run in the Indy Lights. I see a win-win situation here. Better driving in the big leagues and more exposure for the minor.

F1 has rules that bans drivers who have won championships in GP2 from competing again in that series. The reason for that is if you can win the championship in GP2 you are ready for F1. Why take a spot from another potential young driver for some old guy like Ron Hornaday or Mike Skinner in NASCAR. The fact that NASCAR doesn’t have rules preventing guys from running in a developmental series hurt them in the long run. Besides Keslowski, how many young guys have made it up the ladder from Nationwide that have made an impact in Sprint Cup in the last ten years? Where’s the future young guns of NASCAR? F1 has new guys every year that move up the ladder and make a impact. Hamiliton, Vettal, Hulkenburg, Maldanto, Senna, and Grojean are just some of the drivers in the last couple of years that have made an impact in F1.

I also hate the argument that it’s good for the young guys to race against the veterans, BS. How is it good when the Sprint Cup guys get the best equipment, and the top crews, The Nationwide regulars are usually a half a lap behind during the race, so how are they learning anything? The sprint cup guys have a race among themselves with maybe one nationwide guy up in the top ten. The GP2 and GP3 series are so good because of the rules that keep the cars so close in performance. It’s about letting the drivers shine, not which team spends the most money. Nationwide is like Sprint Cup where the big teams (Roush, Gibbs, Earnhardt, Penske) dominate because they have the most money. It’s not a developmental series; it’s a stand alone series with a different rules package.

Unfortunately, NASCAR will continue down this road to their detriment. I think you are starting to see the decline now. Ratings and attendance are declining, the drivers are getting older, fans are getting older, and NASCAR is trying desperately to attract young fans back to the sport. IndyCar has a similar problem as NASCAR. The lack of a good developmental series has made the series seem stale. TK, Dario, Helio, and Servia are no spring chickens. They were all driving in CART back in the day. In my mind the series with the strongest developmental series is F1. They are also the most popular and strongest race series in the world. I wonder why?

In my opinion Danica should stay primarily in Nationwide for another year. I believe her crew chief just said the same. Otherwise, she may wash out of Cup just like Hornish did.

The big reason has touched on a bit is Nationwide-Trucks-Pro Series E & W-ARCA are not development series. They do some development, but the are destinations. Ron Hornaday will make the NASCAR HoF as a truck driver. They put a Modified driver in the second class! An old man just won the ARCA Race in Clermont. The old man, Frank Kimmel, has made a career out of beating young kids. You do not see old men (or women) in IndyCar or European ladder season. Those are purely development series for kids.

Should IndyCar drivers race in IndyLights? The way things stand, no. If the Lights car were closer to the IndyCar, I could see some value in younger guys like Newgarden, JR, or Hinch racing in both. The testing ban in NASCAR has left a huge generational gap. How else can a young driver improve his craft? Brad K, Kyle, & Carl have benefitted greatly in racing in both. Joe Gibbs made a rare mistake not having Joey Logano do the same.

I think that since Indy Lights is explicitly part of a ladder system it would be kind of silly for drivers in the big cars to be racing down there. That would kind of defeat the purpose of the ladder system (and they may be taking a seat from someone else). However, if someone like Saavedra needs to go back down for some more seasoning, that makes sense.

Other reasons possibly IndyCar regulars don’t race down there may include 1) safety (as stated in other comments); 2) the physical stress on driver’s bodies are much higher in open wheel than in NASCAR, would an IndyCar driver be able to hold up to double-duty on any given weekend?; 3) time – IndyCar drivers spend a lot more time on car setup and sponsor commitments than in NASCAR (according to Danica’s interview with Curt Cavin last week), would IndyCar drivers have time to do both?

In the end, none of those reasons may be valid. However, I just don’t like the idea of major-leaguers running in the minor leagues.

Because it’s the minor leagues.