Former CART drivers crowd podiums

[Clutch Pedal]

This weekend, NASCAR and IRL fans witnessed how "turning right and left" has its advantages........a podium finish.


NASCAR at the Glen
P1 Former CART driver..........Robby Gordon
P2 Former CART driver..........Scott Pruett

IRL at St. Louis
P1 Former CART driver..........Helio Castroneves
P2 Former CART driver..........Tony Kanaan
P3 Former CART driver..........Gil DeFerran

Congratulations to you all !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Turn13]

Current and former Indy drivers, too.

[CamKing]

They don't have podiums in either series.

[Jack Harrington]

NOTE TO CLUTCH PEDAL:
Your pressure plate needs attention!

[Tara]

The key word here is "former".

I much prefer the word "current".

[IndyIRLman]

No question they (former CART drivers) had a great weekend. CART has become quite the feeder series.


CART-only fans don't blow a gasket. Just messing with ya.

[jandj]

And they all raced somewhere else before they came to CART , so you could just as easily say " "former off-road star" , "former sportscar star", "former whatever star" did well this weekend " instead of giving CART credit for what driver's it couldn't keep accomplished ...

[gyc]

Originally posted by jandj
And they all raced somewhere else before they came to CART , so you could just as easily say " "former off-road star" , "former sportscar star", "former whatever star" did well this weekend " instead of giving CART credit for what driver's it couldn't keep accomplished ...

Well, I think you definitely need to give CART credit for the diversity of its tracks (at least back when these guys were racing) and how well that trains drivers. I don't think Castroneves would have done as well if CART had been all road courses nor would Robby Gordon have done as well if CART raced on all ovals.

[jandj]

I don't disagree with your point that running CART certainly helped with gaining experience .

My response was partly due to having seen similar posts on "another site" and it striking me as another one in the "they couldn't have done it without CART" vein.

To me that's like saying JPM is a success in F1 because of CART .
He was the series for two years , and nobody there had much for him either so I guess MHO is talented drivers in good cars with good teams will win , no matter where or what they ran before .

I didn't see any "USAC driver wins Winston Cup Championship" headlines , even though I have no doubt experience Tony gained there helped him in NASCAR .

Wasn't intended as much a shot at CART as it was a shot at the message .

[$noopy]

Originally posted by gyc
Well, I think you definitely need to give CART credit for the diversity of its tracks (at least back when these guys were racing) and how well that trains drivers. I don't think Castroneves would have done as well if CART had been all road courses nor would Robby Gordon have done as well if CART raced on all ovals.

Robby was a road racer before he went to CART. That was probably part of the reason he went to CART. Castroneves wouldn't have done so well if he hadn't driven for Penske.

[mesquite]

Gotta admit, CART was all over the TV stations on Sunday. Even before they took the checkered at WG, Wally's piece on safety teams was real complimentary of CART. They had Jeemy, Adrian, and the guys from the Safety Team on, as well as footage from Zanardi's crash. All the NASCAR guys they interviewed shared many favorable opinions towards having a similar safety program.

[mnkywrch]

Originally posted by mesquite
All the NASCAR guys they interviewed shared many favorable opinions towards having a similar safety program.

They should, especially after this weekend.

Newman spent a minute on his side before anyone got to him.

Gordon spent even longer, then got caught in traffic getting to the infield care center.

If they can't properly staff the track for safety, they shouldn't be there.

[Shadow101]

Originally posted by mnkywrch
They should, especially after this weekend.

Newman spent a minute on his side before anyone got to him.

Gordon spent even longer, then got caught in traffic getting to the infield care center.

If they can't properly staff the track for safety, they shouldn't be there.

"Well soon, you just don't understand how we do things here at NASCAR. We see no reason to change."

[Shadow101]

Originally posted by Tara
The key word here is "former".

I much prefer the word "current".

Current CART driver??? Just funning..

[Erik Petersen]

jandj, maybe the common denominator to all these drivers is go-karts. Go-karts make the driver.