Hornish considering future in IRL, NASCAR

[blingbling]

http://sports.yahoo.com/irl/news?slug=hornishfuture&prov=st&type=lgns

I can't see him going to NASCAR. You have to wonder how many races he would have won this year had he been driving a Toyota or Honda.

[ERSanders]

I wonder how he would do in racing that involved RIGHT turns too?

[Cyclone]

I like how Chevy is now using Ford's Engine. :D I'm a Ford fan. Ford was going to use this engine for IRL, but when they became the Exclusive Engine of CART, well, they kinda had to shelf the IRL idea. Chevy's engine has been so bad this year that they have turned to Cosworth ( a Ford company) and are now going to use their engine for the rest of the year.

Back on Topic. I saw Hornish race a few weeks ago in Richmond. He has talent and I can easily see him having success in Nascar. Heck first time I saw a IRL car was at Charlotte in about 1996, and guess who was its driver. Tony Stewart.

[markh]

He will be good wherever he goes. Tony Stewart made the switch to NASCAR with no trouble, well almost no trouble, just with some of his fellow drivers.:) I haven't heard anythingabout him being interested in right turns.

I heard from Robin Miller on the radio that he could end up with Penske for 2 reasons. 1. Marlboro is leaving and Hornish didn't want a tobacco sponsor. 2. Penske has the cash it'll take to get him. I think he'll stay in open wheel because that's what he wants to drive.

[John Corn]

It will be interesting to see where Hornish ends up and if Dixon stays.

I think Hornish will stay in the IRL. I'll bet he has a lot of interesting offers, especially if Gil retires or Dixon leaves the series. However, Hornish was quoted in the Indy Star as saying he would probably decide by the end of August, which would probably predate either of those eventualities.

I'm afraid Dixon is gone. He seems to have it all: speed, passing, adaptability, racing intelligence, and the mother of them all: potential. Nice to see him blossoming in the IRL and quite interesting to contrast him to Scheckter.

Hey, who's the "Jester" in this scenario? Now there's a ripe question.

[blingbling]

I wonder how he would do in racing that involved RIGHT turns too?


The Winston/Nextel Cup might interest him then. Aren't there only 2 road courses the whole season? - Sonoma and Watkins Glen?

[blingbling]

re. Tony Stewart - Great driver...just needs a little anger management counseling :D


Is his contract with Joe Gibbs up at the end of this season? I don't know what his contractual or endorsement obligations (i.e. Jeff Gordon would probably lose millions if he left Winston Cup right now) are but you have to wonder if he would like to add an Indianapolis 500 to his fantastic career. Is IRL in his future?

[Cyclone]

IRL is small potatoes compared to NASCAR. When I went to the Richmond IRL race. I didn't buy a $30 ticket until I got to the track. I waited in a 3 person line. It was a general admission ticket and I got a great seat right accross from the pits. The back half of the track was roped off and those seats where not even availble for anyone to sit in.

A nascar race at the same Track will cost $80 a seat. It will be sold out 8 months before the date. Traffic around the track for race day takes forever to get through.

In other words, no body leaves Nascar for another series unless they want a pay cut. I could see someone doing it for F1, but nobody I know of has. Stewart and Gordon would be the only ones I'd think of. There just isn't the money in IRL or CART to drawn even a mediocre NASCAR driver away. Now a driver who has been bumped down to Busch or Trucks, thats different.

[markh]

I heard on RPM Now(ESPN Radio's version of RPM Today) that Tony Stewart has been talking to Chip Ganassi about driving for his team. That would probably give Tony an Indy ride every year. Ganassi was also on, and he denied it all. I can't believe that Chip wouldn't want Tony, but making it happen is another thing. Just an interesting rumor.

Saw the IRL race tonight. Hornish ran laps as fast as anybody with the Chevy engine that's 30 - 40 horse short of Toyota and Honda. They say Nashville is a handling track, but running as well as he did shows he can just flat out drive. If he can turn right, Formula One would have to be interested in him.

[Cyclone]

One thing that I have learned since Chip Gannasi came to NASCAR. That man will lie every time to your face. He lies constantly. Its almost funny how its "Jason Leffeler is here to stay, Jimmy Spencer is our man" and then the next day the guy is fired and a new one is already lined up.

I think that Gannasi's NASCAR teams are overated. Sterlin had a Great run last year, but the other teams have always struggled.