Open wheel drivers to NASCAR?

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Several are said to be making the move - nothing offical yet of course. I'am wondering why?

Is it more $$ ?
Safety ?
More exposure ?
Less travel ?

Thoughts ?...?...?
 
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Depends which series they are moving from. If F1 then way less $$


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I know of only 2 F1 drivers who make more than top NASCAR drivers. That would be Michael Schumacher, who reportedly had total income of 80 million a year, and Kimi Raikken, said to make around 50 million now at Ferrari. Several NASCAR drivers are above 20 million dollars per year. Earnhardt Sr kept on making 35 million plus for several years after he died. Jeff Gordon was at the 25 million level several years ago when his previous wife divorced him and his income figures came out in court. I know of only a couple more F1 drivers who are in the 20 million range; that would be the grossly overpaid Ralf Schumacher, and the two time world champion who now drives for McLaren, and whose name slips my mind right now. Several more are in the 8- to 10 million range, as was Juan Pablo Montoya. Montoya is probably making more than that as a NASCAR driver when his salary, prize earnings, souvenir sales, and public appearance money are totalled.

Even the older NASCAR drivers do very well on smaller teams. Court documents showed that Sterling Marlin was making about $4 million, plus souvenir sales at Ginn Racing. Bill Elliott, doing just a few races at Wood Brothers in the 21 car, was said to be paid $300,000 per race. I'd say NASCAR drivers compare very favorably to F1 drivers.
 
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They nearly all make more in F1 than CRAPCAR. Do your research




Thought I had. I can quote many more figures if you like. For example, Lewis Hamilton is making about $250,000. Massa is at about $10 million at Ferrari.

Since you are more knowledgeable than me, tell us who in F1, that I have not mentioned, makes more than NASCAR drivers. By the way, how much would you say Dale Earnhardt Jr's total income is?
 
Hamiltons salary so far for this year is $US2,881,561. As I said do your research before posting. Your just a tad out at US$250,000. Oh and that's just salary don't forget F1 drivers earn more from endorsements than they do from salary.
 
There are a lot of reasons open wheel drivers are moving to NASCAR.

1. Extended driving careers - What was JPM going to do after F1, sell time shares in Miami? Why not come to NASCAR and race competitively for many more years. I think you'll see J. Villeneuve and Scott Speed in stock cars very soon (JV is testing cars and trucks for Bill Davis Racing). Paul Tracy has been on again/off again in NASCAR for the past couple years. He'll get it together. Franchitti won't be the last.

2. Sponsor leverage - The best phrase I can come up with, meaning both drivers and sponsors want to leverage the marketing opportunities NASCAR provides. Open wheel racing in N. America is struggling yet sponsors want to be involved in racing and have equity in certain drivers. If a driver can get together with their sponsor and an owner, an opening can be created. Either that or lose the sponsor (and your racing career) when they lose interest.

3. More level playing field - Blather on about NASCAR all you want but even the biggest hater has to admit NASCAR has created a reasonably level playing field for its participants. So far this year 14 different drivers have won races in Cup. I think last year it was like 17 or 19 drivers. I don't think there is a top level racing series anywhere in the world with that kind of equality. Most racing drivers want to win. Why race in a series where there's little chance of winning unless you drive for the top team?

4. Less stress/better quality of life - Racing is a grind no matter where you race. It's easy to get burned out, even if you race in some of the most exotic places anywhere. While Nextel Cup is still a grind at 36 races per year, there is no international travel. Most drivers go straight home after a race. When you spend your life living out of a suitcase year after year, things like sleeping in your own bed become extremely important. NASCAR is very family friendly and the drivers have pretty good camaraderie among them. That isn't true with every racing series. Most everyone gets along because they all know they're in it together. NASCAR simply isn't as dog-eat-dog as other racing series are. Just ask JPM, he knows all about it.

There are other reasons but those should give you an idea of the appeal of NASCAR. Money buys you a lot of things but it can't buy you lower stress, time with your friends and family, and a longer racing career.
 
Lot of good info here.

Even though I think open-wheel, especially F1, is far more demanding, that doesn't mean that an open-wheel driver is a shoe-in to win at circle-track racing. The racing is very different and the driver is only one person in a team.

Still, I'd say succesful open-wheel drivers have a good shot at full-bodied, circle-track racing ... even into their 50s. The other way around practically never happens ... for good reason.
 
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