Raikkonen to NASCAR!!!

[ecapox]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/90331

???

[Giblet]

I know I just saw that!!

JPM and Kimi probably have more talent than 3 midfield drivers, and they have been both been pushed out of F1 by all the politicking and corporate baloney.

Shame for F1, and a big gain for NASCAR.

[mep]

Aaah no please not.
Kimi driving a truck in circles together with some american rednecks who try to crash him out.(dont take offence)
Kimi should stay in some high skilled series.

[PNSD]

Aaah no please not.
Kimi driving a truck in circles together with some american rednecks who try to crash him out.(dont take offence)
Kimi should stay in some high skilled series.

Never expected a response like that on this forum.

NASCAR is a high skilled series, the fact that Montoya hasnt won on an oval is evidence enough for how difficult it is! If you really believe NASCAR is not a high skilled series then I have to question your knowledge on the subject.

I think this is great news. Kimi clearly wants another challenge yet again, and NASCAR is as big a challenge as WRC was. Hopefully his approach is a patient one. He will not get results early. As long as he sticks at it he will do fine. But he can not go into the sport expecting results.

[Giblet]

Let's not delve into the merits of NASCAR and it's drivers. Anyone in motorsports knows that NASCAR is highly competitive but it is a completely different discipline and not really rapt with comparisons to circuit racing.

[mep]

Yea I added don't take offence because of a reason.
Anyway I stay to my opinion.
Its not the right place for KIMI.

[PNSD]

You stated not to take offence after your sentence about American rednecks who "try to crash him out".

I dont mind you stating your opinion, this is a forum, but the reasoning for your opinion of NASCAR not being the right place for Kimi is based on there being a lack of skill. Is that right or have I misunderstood?

If so, then could you explain why you think theres a lack of skill. What has convinced you to think this exactly?

Usually people who form such opinions on NASCAR have been ill-informed about the sport, or just have no idea about it.

[Formula None]

No, PNSD, real drivers use push to pass, don't forget that. That's why Mario Kart is the world's premier racing series. Sorry did I say Mario Kart? I meant to say Formula 1.

Now, the real concern here for me is that between the NASCAR announcers' accents and Kimi's accent, no one will have any idea what's being said.

[ecapox]

The man just wants to have fun and drive. You cant blame him for that. Only thing left after NASCAR is NHRA!

[Ciro Pabón]

Well, if true, I think it's a great opportunity for both, Räikkönen and NASCAR.

He has all that a great NASCAR driver needs, and both of them are big.

I believe that NASCAR is a team sport and reputation is everything in it. Other drivers in the track won't follow you if they think you don't have a chance to win, and that train that forms behind you is everything in oval racing. Without it, you cannot win and you cannot win without it, kind of a vicious circle that explains, from my point of view, the lack of clear success in Montoya's case. The margins are small and you have to adapt to an ever changing "general" strategy others are following during the race.

Besides, NASCAR offers you many years of true racing, racing to the line, racing with effort. Because it requires more effort, brains for strategy and lots and lots of anticipation (on the part of the driver!) than circuit racing, it is more suited for mature drivers and, if you get there as a good driver, surely you can drive for years coming.

On the other hand, it is hard to adapt to NASCAR, as the string of ex-open wheelers failing at the entrance shows.

I don't know if american public will dig Kimi's laconic style, but it might be.

[Ted68]

Yes, Kimi is a driver looking to drive. If he wants challenge there are the Coke 600 and Indy 500 on the same day. Last time someone attepted both was Tony Stewart, iirc, but it used to be common. I would like to see this.

[mep]

I dont mind you stating your opinion, this is a forum, but the reasoning for your opinion of NASCAR not being the right place for Kimi is based on there being a lack of skill. Is that right or have I misunderstood?

Yes you did misunderstood but thats not your fault it's mine because my comment was to loose. NASCAR is not popular in Europe at all so I agree I don't know much about it apart from some clichés.
As far as I know NASCAR is pure oval racing -right? Yes.
Kimi showed that he is one of the most talented circuit racers. In NASCAR he can't really show this talent because other skills are demanded doing oval racing. Maybe a reason why Montoya has no won yet even after being also a very good circuit driver. This does not mean at all that it is not highly competitive.

Let's just turn this around.
Do you think a good NASCAR driver will immediately be a good rally or circuit driver?
He has to learn the required driving techniques first.

Btw. The article says he wants to do NASCAR and rally parallel. This does not sound like a very serious attempt. Like this I can’t see him being successful in rally or NASCAR.

[mx_tifoso]

Aaah no please not.
Kimi driving a truck in circles together with some american rednecks who try to crash him out.(dont take offence)
Kimi should stay in some high skilled series.

I suppose you haven't seen photos of him recently. He's the Finnish equivalent.

[PNSD]

Talent is talent imo. Drivers throughout their career even in single-seaters move through the ranks driving vastly different cars requiring different styles.

I disagree about Kimi not being able show his talent. As a racecar driver would agree that his talent is in car control? Being able to control a racecar at the limit of adhesion lap after lap? Well you wont find any different NASCAR. Those car's move around alot, its hard enough to keep them going in a straight line!

The reason Montoya has won on an oval is imo down to 2 reasons. 1) he's inpatient, and 2) there are more factors which need to be considered for oval racing than circuit racing. There are only 4 corners, and double the amount of drivers on track thats shorter than most road courses. Simple fact of the matter is, to win on an oval you need alot more of them deciding factors to go your way than you do with circuit racing. The car's race closer together and a higher average speeds, accidents will, and do happen and it can be difficult to get caught up. Regarding Montoya, well he's had a few close calls. The obvious being Indy in 2009, and Indy last year where he just inpatient and went "all out".

I think if you take a competitive rally car driver, and a competitive NASCAR driver, stick them in the same car, let them go at it the result should not be too different. I think theres an event called Race of Champions? Might have heard of it. Go check out the previous winners.

A fast racecar driver is a fast racecar driver no matter what he or she drives imo. Of course it will take time to adapt. It's taken Kimi long enough to adapt to rallying but I would argue he would be able to adapt quicker to NASCAR. The required driving technique as always is to drive as fast as possible. Kimi will learn how to achieve that.

I suggest you head over to youtube and watch some video's of NASCAR. You must understand just how difficult these machines are to handle, and just how much talent is required.

I too am from Europe. I havent been exposed to NASCAR for a great deal of time, but since my first taste, I was hooked. I used to think, "what's so hard about turning left?". It was a very uneducated view, and once I saw just how hard it was turning left, I got addicted. Now I look forward to tuning in every Sunday to NASCAR as much as I do F1, sometimes even more infact.

[alelanza]

Wow! this is great news, really looking forward to it!
That being said, I think he'll find it hard to do well there, like Montoya i think he has problems letting go of the ball when playing with others, and in my opinion that's a vital thing to have when running hooked to someone else's bumper at 200+ mph AVERAGE speeds for several consecutive laps. On the other hand this will hopefully inspire others to follow, i can see LH racing Alonso 20 years from now in ovals, now that'd be cool!