Will Plato make it to NASCAR?

[pink69]

I dobut it. they seem to only want Americans! he can dream! Good luck to him in the ASCAR!

[hysen]

No. Quite simply if he wants to make it in Nascar he needs to go over there, work his way up the ladder (i.e. ARCA & Busch) and build up his profile in the US - they're not gonna care who he is or what he's done over here.

[OVERSTEER]

well they care what he does over the pond, but over here he can build experience to impress in the us

[Lars]

Originally posted by pink69
I dobut it. they seem to only want Americans! he can dream! Good luck to him in the ASCAR!

Ummmm, was it Christain Fittapaldi that ran in a busch race last year & I think he has tried to qualify for a few more this season? He's not from the US is he? Also, Carlos Contrerras is running in the Nascar Craftsman Truck series & he is from Mexico.

[Joe Fan]

What he needs to do is win the ASCAR championship and then take it from there. In the US, we have a multitude of lower stock car series so why would a Winston Cup, Busch Grand National or Craftsman Truck series owner hire a driver outside the U.S. unless they are better than we they can hire here?

American drivers have similar problems over in Europe. It usually requires a sponsor to support you through the ranks.

Just so you know, there are a whole bunch of talented and experienced American stock car drivers who never make it to the top tiers of NASCAR. So, it does take talent and sponsorship support, even for an American.

[Rambo]

It's damned difficult as Stevie Hodgson found out. there's no sponsorship for Busch teams anymore.

Besides, I'd rather see the back of Muller and have him back in tourers.

Not that I don't like ASCAR, I do, but the BTCC isn't the same without Jase.

[Rocsta]

Plato could make it in NASCAR but he needs to find his feet first in ASCAR. He has already openly admitted the learning curve of this style of racing and so far he has not led the field, but time will tell. John Mickel is going to be racing in the Busch series in June and for few other races so Brits can get in if they want to

[Rambo]

Yeah, but Stevie thought he was going to get the full 6 races or whatever you're allowed without losing your rookie status, and he did what, 3, or just 2?

BUSCH is having a hard time at the moment. There's no sponsorship. Some Busch teams are moving to the Winston Cup because there's more money available. As we all know, it doesn't matter about talent, you need money to race. Sometimes money will substitute (Alex Yoong, anyone?)

I hope John gets his shot and does OK, but I can't see him getting more than a few races in. Same with anyone else.

It's doubly hard for any Brit (or any foreigners, for that matter) to get a drive in the US where they are completely unknown. Even Michael Schumacher is virtually unknown, as I found out when staying with my American in-laws this year.

Jason has the driving talent to race anything. Obviously, his age and racing background virtually preclude single-seat open wheel racing, but I'm sure he could drive anything quickly. However, so can a great many other drivers. I'd think one of the people who has grown up on our short-track oval circuits would adapt better - but then again, it didn't help Stevie, did it?

Maybe an IROC drive wouldn't be out of the question, though - which could give him the publicity he needs to become a 'name' in the US.