Detroit, 5:09 PM
Wed Nov 25
26 posts in the last 24 hours
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| posts about #nelsonpiquet more → |
Nelson Piquet Jr. Going To NASCAR? |
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Jalopnik 
10/08/09
10/08/09
10/08/09
Don't forget the list of championship-winning "ringers" who are always supposed to wax the tails of all the NASCAR rednecks.
Scott Pruett
Ron Fellows
Boris Said
Patrick Carpentier
Jacques Villeneuve
Paul Tracy (could never get a ride)
Dario Franchitti (Indy 500 winner, IndyCar champ)
That's just off the top of my head. All the international sports car racing wins and championships, none of them have accomplished squat in Cup. Fellows has won twice in Busch, and that's pretty much it.
The last "outisder" to win in Cup? Mark Donohue in 1973.
F-1, ALMS, IMSA, SCCA, CART, IndyCar... all that expertise doesn't mean a thing when you get into a full bodied car with a steel V8, 4 speed, and a 10" tire.
10/08/09
Racing stock cars, whether it's NASCAR or Sportsman class at your local track is a differenty style of racing than open wheel. However, it is pretty easy to make this jump. Tony Stewart and many of the current "stars" in NASCAR have made this transition.
Racing oval track is a different style of racing than road courses. Especially when you drove road courses in an open-wheel car. I think this is where the majority of IRL/CART/F1 drivers who switch to NASCAR have trouble. The car is a lot different. The style is a lot different. The strategies are a lot different, etc.
It'll be interesting to see how Piquet Jr. can do.
@Uncle Bo: Excellent point. I laugh when teams bring in ringers, because it rarely seems to help. Although, I've often wondered how much of that is the equipment. Let's face it, the championship caliber teams usually aren't the ones bringing in the ringer. I wonder what Said would do with a Hendrick or Roush Fenway car.
10/08/09
Said does run Roush cars and Fellows has driven Hendrick and DEI cars, neither with much success. Scott Pruett runs Ganassi cars.
It's not equipment, its seat time.The feel a driver gets from a Cup car is very different than what a guy like Ron Fellows usually drives. He simply can't drive both cars the same way and a transition takes time.
The open wheel guys struggle because they are very very reliant on aero grip and technology. Sam Hornish is now driving tracks like California and Michigan that he used to run flat out in the IRL. Can't do that at all in a stock car. The rest of the guys simply never figured it out.
All of this means Montoya's success is impressive. Its taken him 3 full years of dedication but he is finally running up front consistently. I don't think any F-1 driver could make even the slightest impact in NASCAR without having teh same dedication.
10/08/09
10/08/09
Plus I though NASCAR loved people with Jr in their name?
10/08/09
I always wondered if there'd be a stigma for betraying the team that betrayed him.
10/08/09
Waiting on the French driver to arrive after the Brazillian...
10/08/09
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10/08/09
Right turns you say? We have the perfect place for you!
10/08/09
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10/08/09
I mean, I don't hate NASCAR (Mexican NASCAR actually race in circuits and not ovals)
but there are better options for racing.
10/08/09
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07/30/09
07/30/09
Was Nelson Piquet's Brabham gorgeous or what?
07/30/09
That wreck of Kubica’s is still one of the worst incidents I've seen and is made even more impressive by the fact that his injuries were so minor.
I find it interesting that there are no shots of Williams BMW up there. The team saw some pretty good results with wins from Montoya and Ralphy boy. Pity that relationship fizzled.
07/30/09
07/30/09
Sadder still is that we might be losing an iconic F1 icon for those F1 folks pushing brooms.
07/31/09
@SeanKHotay: Hidely-ho, neighborino!