Hornish to race last 2 races in Busch series

[Kieran20]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/55466

so hornish is definatly in irl next season, with the odd NASCAR race when he can. be interesting to see how he does.

[Kieran20]

wow a whole thread to myslef i can see everyone loves to know about hornish

[Hazza]

[marcus]

well it seems thats where everyone is gravitating too.

I guess its a toe in the water excercise for Sam to try stockcars and see how he likes it for a possible move in the future.

at least he will stay with Penske for next year in the Indycar series though

[Snrub]

Very good news. We all know how important Hornish is.

I wonder through... Did Hornish and Allemdinger's successes in 2006 result in increased viewership or attendance to either OW series? I would say that they certainly generated more buzz...

[rustyfan]

Should be interesting to see how this turns out. Unlike with Allmendinger I doubt there is a "NASCAR-plan" in place already for Hornish, so if he achieves only moderate success in his stock car attempts (like Tracy) I wouldn't be surprised if he decides to stay in IndyCar for several more years.

[JohnSSC]

I think it is less that they have "created buzz" (AJ and Sam) as it is that NASCAR continues to expand. The Teams have a good eye for talent and so the AJ's and Sam's of this world will be on their radar because of that - not necessarily because of the reputation of their respective Series. Although in Sam's case having his smiling face on the Borg-Warner Trophy is a big plus PR-wise.

NASCAR has poached talent for years from open-wheel. Typically this has happened before the driver has reached the top rung (see Jeff Gordon).

[rustyfan]

Originally Posted by JohnSSC

NASCAR has poached talent for years from open-wheel. Typically this has happened before the driver has reached the top rung (see Jeff Gordon).

Gordon wasn't poached though. His dream was racing in Champ Car and the Indianapolis 500, but when he felt ready to move up from the sprint car ranks - where he had been very successful - the Champ Car teams weren't interested in the young, fast American and shortly thereafter he got in touch with Bill Davis who agreed to give Gordon a shot in the NASCAR Busch Series. The rest is, as they say, history...

[JohnSSC]

In retrospect you are right, Rusty - Jeff had not signed with a team and hadn't even been given the time of day by the folks running the teams in CART at the time.

I guess what I meant is that NASCAR has been doing a pretty fair job of evaluating talent, identifying the up and comers and getting them signed. They somehow missed AJ or were unsuccessful in courting him earlier.

NASCAR gets little credit for their ability to do that. One of the things that I think appeals to their fans is the steady influx of young talent to challenge the "old guard." Makes interesting for the fans and gives a variety of drivers to identify with.

Whoever is doing the scouting for them has a good eye.

[indycool]

Agree, John.....NASCAR teams seem to spot and develop new talent with pretty level efficiency.

Whoever heard of Jimmie Johnson before he emerged on the scene? Whoever heard of Denny Hamlin before this year?

Like Gordon and Stewart in open-wheel sprinters, these guys were used to running 40-lap features with 30 cars on half-miles every Saturday night.

I remember reading a quote from Emerson Fittipaldi, after his first-ever oval race on the mile track at Phoenix in CART, saying he'd never been in as much traffic in his life. But as time went on, he mastered it magnificently.

This is a challenge formula road-racing drivers like Montoya and Allmendinger face in NASCAR -- they run against 42 other drivers running nose-to-tail, not 20 or so strung out, on both big fast ovals and short whang-'em-and-bang-'em ovals, and it's an entirely different ball game.