Give that man a cigar :word:
You didn’t really think they’re doing it for the “challenge” did you? :bloated: I’m not saying NASCAR is easy by any means, but that whole “challenge” thing makes me laugh. That’s driver speak for “They’ll pay me what I want to drive their car, and I can’t get that kind of money driving what I really would like so I couldn’t say no”. You take money out of the equation, and NASCAR would be at the bottom of the list for most drivers with any sort of skill. You think if the IRL could offer Dario the paycheck NASCAR could, he would be leaving?
Successful F1 drivers make more money because it’s a true WORLDWIDE sport that has way more marketing pull everywhere not called the United States. I guarantee you if Francitti was offered a competitive ride in F1 and Nascar at the same time, he’d take the F1 gig without blinking.
The NASCAR circuit is relatively stable and travel isn’t nearly as strenuous. If you live in North America and want to make money racing, NASCAR is pretty much your only option, and it’s a sad shame that things are this way. The other racing series only have themselves to blame for NASCAR’s dominance in marketing.
I don’t hate NASCAR, they worked hard to get to their spot in the limelight, but any driver with skill joining NASCAR for the “challenge” is just making a cash grab because either (a) They got forced out of a series that pays them way more money or (b) the series they really love to drive/compete in doesn’t pay enough money and/or they are paying out of pocket for their seat.