Foreign Race Car Drivers Enter NASCAR

Dario Franchitti

Jacques Villanueve

Patrick Carpentier

Nascar seems to be going international with the entry of various race car drivers from different nationalities and racing backgrounds. The trend of international players entering the NASCAR scene started with Juan Pablo Montoya, a Colombian F1 race driver who joined NASCAR in 2006. While he has been subject to conflicts with other race drivers for his aggressive style, his nationality had never been an issue with his fellow NASCAR drivers.

With Montoya doing well in the Cup series, he has indeed paved the road open for other foreign drivers to enter the race scene. The new foreign racers to join NASCAR next year are Dario Franchitti, a Scotsman who also happens to be married to American actress Ashley Judd; Jacques Villeneuve, a former F1 race car driver of French � Canadian descent and Patrick Carpentier, an ex �speedskater who now runs races in NASCAR�s oval track.

According to Jack Burton, there may be a possible backlash with regard to the entrance of foreign players into the intensely American sport of NASCAR racing. But times have been changing as various sports, not only NASCAR, are becoming more popular with an international audience. Japanese car manufacturers such as Toyota now sponsor racing teams alongside American car brands like Ford and Chevrolet.

Accommodating more foreign race car drivers in NASCAR is an inevitable move for the motor sport. Jacques Villanueve, one of the noted foreign NASCAR drivers, is keen to point out that, �Any sport that becomes more popular over the years is going to become more international.� while Dario Franchitti believes that the entry of non �American drivers will be good for NASCAR�s international side. He points out that opening the race to drivers of other nationalities will also mean marketing possibilities in the foreign driver�s home country. Fans of Franchitti who are based in Canada will mean a marked Canadian following for NASCAR while marking possibilities will be open for Carpentier�s fans in Quebec.

Having a bigger international audience for NASCAR is a positive thing. In a world that gets more and more connected due to technology, it is only fitting that there should be no barriers on who can enter the Cup series.

Source: sports.yahoo.com