NASCAR drivers no longer welcomed in Indy 500

UPDATE A reader writes, Gordon said "The saying is to be a star, you've got to beat a star, and they're going to have to rebuild that process."

HENCE THE PROBLEM- the IRL "star" has always been beaten (except one fuel economy run)…I want to watch racing, not American Idol. Derek Hughes

05/21/08 Yeley and Robby Gordon, who has five top-10 finishes in 10 Indy 500 starts, don't see the folks at Indy concerned about luring NASCAR stars to combat the recent defections of past champions such as Montoya, Sam Hornish Jr. and Dario Franchitti to NASCAR.

"They're [IRL] trying to build their own racing series," JJ Yeley says. "If you start bringing some of the superstars from NASCAR back over, they're going to steal all the thunder."

Robby Gordon thinks the IndyCar Series has stars of its own to cultivate.

Unification "clears up a little confusion," Gordon says. "But they have a little process over there of building stars again. Obviously, Danica (Patrick) is a star. Marco Andretti has tons of opportunity. With Scott Dixon and (Helio) Castroneves, they've got good racers. But the public needs to know about them. The saying is to be a star, you've got to beat a star, and they're going to have to rebuild that process."

With that said we doubt NASCAR wants their drivers to race in the Indy 500 because they never win so it makes them look bad.