Drivers With Experience In Fenderless Race Cars Have Invaded Stock Car Racing Over The Past Decade. Here's Why
The ability of open-wheel drivers to control a car on the absolute edge translates well to stock cars. Photo by Phil Kunz
Here's a bit of racing trivia for you. What did the winners of the 1997 ARCA 200 and Daytona 500 have in common? Give up? Well, both ARCA winner Andy Hillenburg and Daytona 500 winner Jeff Gordon are former open-wheel drivers. It's a trend that seems to be gathering momentum in the 21st century as other open-wheel drivers look to make what once seemed an unlikely transition.
Three or four decades ago, a race driver's credentials were measured by the number of types of racing machines he could skillfully drive, and such diverse styles of racing in a driver's resum weren't that uncommon.
Many of the drivers from that era come to mind-A.J. Foyt, Johnny Rutherford, Mario Andretti, Roger McCluskey, Parnelli Jones, and the like. Each one on that prestigious list, and certainly others, was just as comfortable in an open-wheel racer as in a NASCAR stock car.
Boston Reid, shown here in a winged sprint, also has experience in non-winged open-wheel vehicles and continues to run open-wheel machines on occasion. Photo by Phil Kunz
We're now told that these are the days of specialization in one style of racing, but that may not necessarily be the case. If you look carefully at the ranks of NASCAR's three top series in recent years, you will note an amazing number of drivers who began their careers in open-wheel cars, racing on both dirt and pavement.
For the most part, the definition of open-wheel cars in this context involves the non-winged vehicles of the United States Auto Club. Those include Sprint Cars, Midgets, and the Silver Crown Champ Cars.
These open wheelers are all front-engine, rear-drive, low-downforce machines powered by production-car-style powerplants where the front wheels are not normally visible to the driver. Sounds more like a stock car than a rear-engine Indy Car. Maybe that's one reason these cars are such a great training ground for stockers.
Kasey Kahne wheels a Sprint Car at Eldora Speedway in 2001. He's since become a regular competitor in Nextel Cup. Photo by Phil Kunz
No matter how you analyze it, the transition from open wheelers to pavement stock cars is radical. The biggest difference comes from the weight of the vehicles and the resulting power-to-weight ratio. While a Sprint Car weighs about 1,100 pounds, a Nextel Cup machine approximately triples that figure.
One other aspect comes from the manner in which many of these drivers started their careers. A vast majority of them started at tender ages in miniature open-wheel cars, namely Karts and Quarter Midgets. This certainly makes Karts and/or Quarter Midgets viable entry-level venues for stock car careers.
Many former open-wheel drivers who have made the transition indicate that the maneuvering capability of stock cars seems slow and sluggish compared to Sprints and Midgets
Ryan Newman, now a Nextel Cup star, was a terror in USAC Sprint Cars. Photo by Sam Sharpe
It also seems that the open-wheel guys tend to drive off the right-rear tire, whereas those who have come up through the stock car ranks drive off the right front. There are also suggestions that driving on the edge with a lighter, higher performance open wheeler might bring that style to stock cars.
You might be surprised to learn the number of NASCAR stock car drivers of today that came from the open-wheel persuasion: Gordon, Hillenburg, Ken Schrader, John Andretti, Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman, Jason Leffler, Mike Bliss, the late Kenny Irwin Jr., Tony Stewart, Dave Blaney, J.J. Yeley, Tracy Hines, Boston Reid, and others.
All the major Nextel Cup team owners are certainly aware of this open-wheel talent pool and take a good look at current youngsters driving open wheelers. Some as young as their early teens have aligned with Nextel Cup teams to hasten the learning process toward heavier race cars with fenders.
While an Indy Car career used to be the driving ambition for young open wheelers, that is no longer the case. There are a few, however, such as Stewart, Andretti, Sarah Fisher, and others who gave it a try before coming to NASCAR. But for the majority, it's a straight trip to the stock cars.