Waid's World
A NASCAR BLOG BY Steve Waid
It appears, for some NASCAR teams, an experiment has failed
It seems that what was once heralded as a potential opportunity for NASCAR to expand its international presence has failed.
When Chip Ganassi Racing hired Juan Pablo Montoya of Colombia, who won the 1999 Indianapolis 500 and was a seven-time winner in Formula One, to become one of its drivers and join the good ol’ boy world of NASCAR, it was believed that if he had any measure of success it would open the doors for other foreign competitors.
Or even for Americans who had established careers in open-wheel racing. Happened before, right?
Montoya won a Nationwide Series race in Mexico and a Sprint Cup event at Sonoma in 2007. He finished a respectable 20th in points and won the title as Raybestos Rookie of the Year.
The doors opened.
But in some cases, they shut quickly.
Canadian Jacques Villeneuve, a former Formula One champion, latched on with Bill Davis Racing in Sprint Cup competition – and also made some Nationwide Series starts - but overall his new enterprise really never got off the ground. He was gone as quickly as he had arrived.
Scotsman Dario Franchitti, another Indy 500 winner and an IndyCar Series champion, latched on with Ganassi for this season. But it didn’t last long. The team folded earlier this year because of a lack of sponsorship, and Franchitti has rejoined the open-wheel ranks.
Another Canadian, Patrick Carpentier, who also had success in open-wheel racing and professed a preference for oval tracks, got a ride with Gillette Evernham Motorsports this season.
Despite some progress, his relationship with GEM has come to an early end.
American AJ Allmendinger, from Los Gatos, Calif., made his mark in the Champ Car Series before he got the opportunity to come to NASCAR in 2006 with Red Bull Racing. He’s had some good moments. Many think he had progressed nicely.
But apparently not enough for Red Bull. He won’t be with the team next year; in fact, he’s already gone. It’s been announced that after this weekend’s race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Allmendinger will drive five races for GEM. Ironically, he will replace Carpentier. Mike Wallace will replace Carpentier at Lowe’s.
Let’s add it up. One foreign driver, Villeneuve, never really got his start. Another, Franchitti, did but was victimized by finances and was gone. A third, Carpentier, worked diligently but was obviously considered unproductive (at least that’s what we’ve been told) and has now been replaced.
And the American, Allmendinger, hangs on for the rest of this season. Who knows what lies ahead for him?
Let’s not forget that Montoya has lost his sponsor, Texaco, and if Ganassi cannot find a replacement what could that mean for his future?
I would be remiss if I did not mention that almost all of the aforementioned drivers established solid realtionships with the media – which is important in today’s NASCAR.
But that is not enough.
So it would appear that, for the most part, the grand experiment undertaken by a few NASCAR teams has been a failure.
That, of course, does not mean we won’t see it again.
Steve Waid
Steve Waid is the veteran sports writer on the NASCAR Scene staff. He's been covering racing since 1972 and has been at NASCAR Scene for 26 years.
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Comments
3 responses to "It appears, for some NASCAR teams, an experiment has failed". Post a Comment.
Arthur Trim said:
Oct 9, 2008 at 9:29 AMAnother trendy, monkey see, monkey do, media fed experiment gone. Now the teams are on another trend of pre-puberty young drivers. Monkey see, monkey do
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» Confirm Abuse ReportKen Osborne said:
Oct 9, 2008 at 11:59 AMI agree with Arthur. If you're old enough to buy beer, you're to old to get a ride in NA$CAR. After this fad, something else will come along in a couple of years.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportSteve C said:
Oct 9, 2008 at 8:54 PMJust another cycle in the life of NASCAR
Report as AbuseMario, Al, AJ open wheelers who came and went.
Now its Franchitti,Villeneuve,Carpentier and AJ
Like I said, just another life cycle
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