Jeff Gordon to test BMW-Williams

[KC]

Jeff Gordon and Juan Pablo Montoya will switch seats as both drivers sample cars from the top open wheel and oval racing series. The test will take place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road circuit when the F1 cars make the trip across the pond later this year. Gordon has long wanted to take such a drive being a follower of F1.

[BootsOntheSide]

That'll be fantastic, Jeff driving a Williams F1 car around the Indy road course, and Montoya a NASCAR on the oval.

I wonder who'll be closer to each other's laptime, proportionally? Theoretically there's no obvious advantage - Montoya's driven on ovals but not in stock cars, and Gordon's only driven lower-power openwheel cars, although road courses aren't entirely foreign to him.

[Lee Janotta]

They were supposed to do this last year, I hope it works this time!

I'm betting Montoya will be faster, but not by much.

Hmm... Gordon to replace Ralf?

[neilap]

Originally posted by Lee Janotta Hmm... Gordon to replace Ralf?

Good, very good one.

[avsfan733]

That really is Lee, Ralf is a funny guy

[flatlander_48]

Beg to differ about the "lower-power openwheel cars". Depending upon the series, sprint cars are 800+ hp and 1200 to 1400 pounds. The big difference would be center of gravity and downforce.

[Quadrifoglio]

The ability of Nascar drivers has long been underestimated in the world of European racing. at last years Race of Champions event in the Canary Islands where leading drivers from different areas of motorsport raced each other in identical machinery Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson were very competitive and surprised everybody.
The young guns of modern Winston Cup racing are all very talented and I believe with time and support could all be competitive in other categories. Without a doubt Tony Stewart who has extensive single seater experience could be a regular F1 race winner and I see no reason why Jeff Gordon could not do the same.

[gttouring]

Gordon has done well in everything he has driven, so it'll be no surprise if he does well, but he isn't going to be allowed or even given the setup to race at 10/10ths, it'll be leaisurely probably 5 seconds off the pace. He got into a good thin (monetarily anyhow) with NASCAR, Gordon, after it has been seen would have been one of the Americans to Groom for F1, I wonder if there is still a chance? Dupont sponsor ship in F1 his size might be welcome.

[Fish_Flake]

I believe he was offered a test drive with Jaguar a few years back, from his association with Du Pont, a Jaguar sponsor, but he was stopped by Chevrolet at the last minute.

The main problem with Jeff Gordon is that he is Chevrolet's biggest commodity in racing, along with the Earnhardts. Whereas his two big sponsors with long-term partnerships with Gordon are Du Pont and Pepsi, would likely support Gordon in Formula 1, he is too important to Chevy's marketing campaign to let him go. He turns 32 in August, so he is probably too old to just be getting started.

[EERO]

I've always said that Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordan were the two Americans I wanted to see in F1-30 years ago, guys of their calibar would have had the third car of one one of the major teams in the final races of the season, just to get their feet wet. Today, driver's are so specialized and contracted to one/series that the cross fertilization of the series is lost.

Unfortuantely, this is merely a media event and can't really lead to any future chance of Gordan in F1. But if only it could...

[DavidStHubbins]

Imagine Tony Stewart let loose in F1 :0 Jeebus, he would light things up for sure. I cannot even begin to imagine him talking to Kimi- culture clash...

[Lee Janotta]

Originally posted by EERO
30 years ago, guys of their calibar would have had the third car of one one of the major teams in the final races of the season, just to get their feet wet. Today, driver's are so specialized and contracted to one/series that the cross fertilization of the series is lost.

Amen! Some of the best drivers ever got their F1 starts in third cars at their home GPs.

Even through the 1970s, drivers didn't expect to stay in F1 all their careers. Look at all the different championships guys like Mario Andretti, Ronnie Peterson, and Jacky Ickx competed and suceeded in throughout their careers.

F1 thinks too highly of itself, it's too insular.

[Down F0rce]

I hope this get some TV coverage in the UK. Can't wait!

[Snrub]

Gordon is a real race car driver, he'll do fine. JPM invented sliding on ovals in CART, time for a first in a Nascar?

[Neil C]

I always thought Mark Martin would have been the NASCAR driver with the most potential as an F1 pilot, and he is a follower of F1. But he's getting on in age now.

I think it will be much easier for Montoya to adapt to a NASCAR than Gordon to F1 cars. Montoya has much oval experience, and F1 cars are tricky even for openwheel road racers to master. Ask Zinardi, M. Andretti or Franchitti.

[Maxmil]

Originally posted by Neil C
I always thought Mark Martin would have been the NASCAR driver with the most potential as an F1 pilot, and he is a follower of F1. But he's getting on in age now.

Getting On! He is a sincere spokesman for Viagra.

[Fish_Flake]

God forbid, if Mark Martin ever gets injured on the track, I'd like to see his drive given to Dick Trickle. Not only does he have the perfect Viagra name, he's sixty years old!

[Schummy]

I don't think comparing times between JPM and JG is fair, because I don't see Williams-BMW giving him a 100% perfomance car, and also he and his sponsors will not want to risk a serious accident in a F1.

On the other side, NASCAR cars are less technically advanced and maybe Montoya can have a 100% real one. Also, I tends to think in a same track, NASCAR car is more safe for a "beginner".

Anyway, it would be fun to see Gordon carrying on his NASCAR techniques to F1 if he gets a Williams seat Maybe he will get confused and will sit in the safety car instead his openwheel.

[JohnSSC]

The time comparison will be meaningless. As has been correctly pointed out, the cars won't be prepped for all-out speed.

All series havew become insular though, haven't they? I think there is much less crossover than there used to be. Look how few F1 drivers do LeMans or any endurance racing. NASCAR drivers (probably due to their schedule) rarely do anything else and even ChampCar/IRL drivers stick to their series.

And that is a real shame!

[bcobbus]

A race car driver is a race car driver. Give them time and they will be somewhat at home in a new type of car. Mr. Gordan did ok in the rally exhibition last year, in fact the US team won the race even though none were rally drivers, or had any experiance in such a car!

It is a shame that there is no crossing over to other series nowadays. The schedules are thight, and there are too many contracts that specify that the driver can only race for that team. It is amazing to thing that on one weekend Dan Gurney won the 24hours of Le Mans, then on the next the Belgian GP!

[Lee Janotta]

Originally posted by JohnSSC
The time comparison will be meaningless. As has been correctly pointed out, the cars won't be prepped for all-out speed.

All series havew become insular though, haven't they? I think there is much less crossover than there used to be. Look how few F1 drivers do LeMans or any endurance racing. NASCAR drivers (probably due to their schedule) rarely do anything else and even ChampCar/IRL drivers stick to their series.

And that is a real shame!

Point. But on the other hand, Jimmy Vasser's doing some NASCAR this year besides CART, and some F3000 drivers do quite a lot of sportscar/GT racing. Tony Stewart, Kenny Schrader, and quite a few other Winston Cup drivers love to show up in midgets or modifieds and hang it all out around a dirt oval in the middle of nowhere. And you can still find some NASCAR and IRL guys at the Daytona 24.

NASCAR drivers, by and large, _really_ love what they're doing, and they'd probably show up in more sports car races if there wasn't a war between the NASCAR-owned Grand-Am series, and the American LeMans series. There's nothing NASCAR can really do to keep any of these drivers from showing up in the ALMS, but suffice to say they'd be considered persona non grata by the Florida Mafia, and without a doubt would be punished by the guys in the big trailer.

Don't ask me what the hell's wrong with CART guys that keeps them out of those 3rd seats that open up at Sebring and LeMans. Every damn year at Daytona, it used to be a tradition to have a bunch of Unsers crammed into one car, and often the Andrettis together in another. It can't be sponsor conflicts, CART doesn't have any sponsors!

For me, a large part of my love of enduros is just seeing the driving teams, each driver in a completely different firesuit, with different sponsors... Guys who might be fighting tooth and nail for a championship the whole year, running as teammates for the next 12 to 24 hours.

And dammit, why don't the rally drivers ever show up for LeMans? There's no way in hell their employers can claim they're taking a risk, not compared to what they're paid to do in WRC!

[boom boom]

yes crossover is good, it is exciting to see how a driver does in other arenas.

Gordon is good but I am more interested in on how Jaun fairs. He is popular in this country(for sponsership to arange a ride)and has some free time in february, I would love to see him have a chance to come and snatch the 500 from all those nascar guys like he did to the IRL in the Indy 500.

To many fans in every type of racing think there drivers are far better than any of the others. It is a shame not to have more crossover to see the real talent show what they have. If someone has talent and can drive in other series, it is really exciting to see them have a try at it.

[Lee Janotta]

I should add I'm also suprised that more road racers don't give NASCAR a shot. I think some of the better drivers could really rock on the short tracks like Martinsville and Bristol.

The thing is, sure, F1 pays the most for drivers of any series in the world. But WRC isn't second, neither is CART or F3000. It's NASCAR, and I'm amazed the good 'ol boys are almost the only ones chasing that cash!

[kmchow]

It's kinda hard to compare whether F1 (open wheel), Nascar, rally drivers are better. The only "definitive" way I think to tell would be to create a series which forces drivers to race at different types of tracks--oval, road, street, dirt track in a variety of race cars. Only then, can we really see who is the best.

[bcobbus]

In the 60's USAC did just that. Race on paved and dirt ovals, along with some road courses. Even though CART may not run on dirt, they still have the most variety out of all the series. Intersting to note that NASCAR's rival, the ARCA series races on dirt as well as paved ovals, and they put on a heck of a show!

The thing that keeps the NASCAR guys from doing more road racing is hectic schedule they have. 36 races in all! When they do get a chance, some do race on raod courses, such as when they visit Daytona, Watkins Glen, and in the South West series when they visit Sears Point. Just not a matter of time.

One series that you used to get, and still do to a certain extent different drivers is the IROC series. Yes they only have 4 races on ovals, but you do get drivers from different types of racing. Remember when Sprint Car legend Steve Kinser raced? Don't know if we will ever see John Force however!