Jeff Gordon's F1 offer to BAR in 1999 had an interesting CART connection

[crazytrain]

http://www.canoe.com/NewsStand/Toron...24/118176.html
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Gordon's side of story

F-1 offer was different than Pollock's version

By Dean McNulty

SONOMA, Calif. -- Four-time NASCAR Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon wants to set the record straight about a proposed Formula One deal offered to him by BAR-Honda. The Toronto Sun reported last week that Craig Pollock, BAR's former team principal, said he had offered Gordon a contract to drive with Canadian Jacques Villeneuve when the team was formed in 1999.

Gordon, however, told The Sun it wasn't quite as simple as the way it was described by Pollock.

"What you are not hearing is the full conversation," Gordon said.

The 32-year-old California native said that while there were discussions about him going to F-1, the deal Pollock offered was dependent on him driving in the CART Champ Car series for two years as a teammate for Toronto's Paul Tracy at Team Kool Green.

"There were discussions about it. I was flattered that they wanted to talk to me about F-1," Gordon said. "But it never got to the stage of 'Okay, you're going to come over here and you are going to test our car and be our driver.' "

Gordon suspected that BAR and Team Kool Green -- because they were being funded by the same tobacco company -- thought they could twin the project and raise the profile of CART by dangling the F-1 carrot in negotiations.

"It was them saying to me 'We would like to put you in a CART car with a team like Barry Green's and have you run two years of CART and then come and test for us in F-1 and then maybe you could come drive for us,' " he said.

Gordon wasn't about to give up his huge NASCAR deal with Hendrick Motorsports for something that wouldn't guarantee an F-1 ride.

"I had already won two Winston Cup championships at that time," Gordon said. "I told the BAR people I was pretty much set here. I was on my way, I was with the best team with the best sponsors. I had everything I could ask for here."

In the end Gordon said it was easy to turn Pollock down.

"It would have been a major step backward for me to do it that way with no guarantees of where it would get me," Gordon said.

[paul-collins]

Can't say as I blame him. F1 has probably double the drivers waiting in the wings with promises of a ride that it has cars on the grid.

I'm sure that's why, for example, Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti went to the IRL. And Toyota only has two cars (although it seems they'll be changing drivers every year).

[KC]

I would have loved to have seen Gordon in CART. He has the necessary talent to do well. I also cannot blame him for staying put. Even Patrick Head said there was no way Williams could afford a driver that commands the level of money that he currently earns in NASCAR.

[macdaddy]

I think that I read recently that Gordon makes almost a million bucks a week. So obviously he made the right choice.

[Lee Janotta]

I certainly can't blame him either, it would have been like starting all over again after being at the top of the sport.

I now like Craig Pollock even less than I did before. As if that were possible. Would it have been so unreasonable to put Gordon on a race-to-race contract for '99, keeping Zonta on reserve? (much as Williams did with Mansell and Coultard in '94)

And look where BAR is today. Yeah, I'd say he made the smart choice.

[BSchneiderFan]

I'd have loved to see Jeff Gordon at Team KOOL Green for 1999-2000, then BAR for 2001 onwards. But I suppose the door's closed now...

[Omega99]

If he's making that much money, maybe someday he'd enjoy racing for the sake of racing?

Though CART is fully to blame in the first place for turning their back to Gordon, and they should never expect him to willfully come back.

[Lee Janotta]

I wish he'd do that too, Omega. But a lot of doors are closed to him now. F1's out of the question unless he buys a ride with Minardi or Jordan. He says he wants to give rallying a try, and it'd be great to see him in an Impreza WRC.

I wish he'd do Indy, though. Can't see there being any sponsor conflicts if Panther or Menards preps a Chevy-powered car for him with Pepsi liverly.

Then again, that'd be good for the IRL. Hmm...

Why no Daytona 24 in a Corvette?