Kyle Busch a shoo-in for new US Formula 1 team?
"I'd like to go to all the different areas and see what's all about,'' he said. "It would be fun to go do that stuff. You can find out exactly how good you are against the best in the world.''
Busch sounded as though it takes more skill to race on the Grand Prix circuit, a challenge he would love to take on.
"Those guys are outrageous,'' he said. "They are so good at being able to finesse a car and make it do what they want it to do. Here, you can try to make the car do what you want it to do, but you're really at its mercy. Those guys can make it do what they want it to do. To learn about that, see what it's like, that would be a lot of fun.''
02/26/09 "There are NASCAR drivers out there right now who I really think, if they wanted to switch to Formula One, we could groom them and help them make that change," Peter Windsor said.
"…Kyle Busch, for example. What a great star he would be. Formula One would welcome anything like that."
For the record, Busch's contract with Joe Gibbs Racing runs through 2010. His agent, Jeff Dickerson, told scenedaily.com that Busch 'would certainly leave the door open to try it out at some point."
02/25/09 Kyle Busch's agent said the young NASCAR star would "certainly leave the door open" to try Formula One "at some point" after Busch's name was mentioned during a press conference announcing a new American-based F1 team.
Officials with the USF1 team, which will be based out of Charlotte, said it would be interested in having Busch drive its car.
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| Kyle Busch is the best NASCAR driver by a long shot, but can he turn right? |
Busch is under contract at Joe Gibbs Racing through the end of next season.
"Obviously, it's very flattering for him to be mentioned for a Formula One ride, especially an American-based team," said Jeff Dickerson, Busch's agent. "Thanks to Toyota, he was excited at the prospect of getting to test a Formula One car this past offseason.
"While it didn't work out then, he would certainly leave the door open to try it out at some point. At the same time, he's currently focused on winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series championships for Joe Gibbs Racing."
02/24/09 A reader responds to this news item by the Indy Star suggesting that Kyle Busch should be one of the USF1 team. Dear AutoRacing1.com, Does anyone besides me find it hilarious that anyone would consider Kyle Busch as a "shoo-in" for the new US F1 team? How in the world does turning left on banked corners in the dry driving a two-ton brick in a sport that's 95% car setup qualify someone for Formula One? Not to denigrate Busch's obvious talent in stock cars, but it's amazing the spell that NASCAR casts on American perception of driving talent. Three words Mr. McDonald – "Ain't gonna happen". J. Chitwood, Marysville, California
Dear Mr. Chitwood, You and many others agree it is hilarious. Mark C.
02/24/09 Kyle Busch put on a driving exhibition this weekend that likely won't be matched any time soon and if the new U.S. Formula One team doesn't have him in their sights, they are not as smart as they think they are.
Busch won both NASCAR races in California on Saturday leading up to Sunday night's Sprint Cup race in which he finished third behind Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon. Saturday's victories marked the first time anyone had won two major NASCAR races on the same day and, with a little luck, Busch might have had the weekend trifecta.
He was dominant in the Camping World Series truck race and the Nationwide Series stock car race, leading 238 of the 250 total laps. In the Cup race, try as he might, third place was the best he could do.
Busch is clearly in a class of his own. To say he's a winner is an understatement. Never mind the two-in-a-day deal he racked up on Saturday. Last year, he set a record by winning 21 races in all three series in a single season. In total, he's been in Victory Lane 44 times since he began his big-league career in 2005.
Nobody else is even close.
But that isn't what's making him a star. It's the grinning and the strutting and the Little Lord Fauntleroy bow to the crowd every time he wins that makes him a favorite.
Unlike his brother Kurt, who's a snot, Kyle is the All-American boy at age 23.
Which makes him a natural for USF1, this new all-American Formula One team that is going to be officially launched Tuesday in Charlotte, N.C.
The two people behind this project – former F1 engineer Ken Anderson and ex-F1 team manager (and current Speed TV broadcaster) Peter Windsor – maintain that they will tell the world tomorrow how they intend – in the middle of the worst recession the world has seen since the 1930s – to establish a company with the appropriate staffing and infrastructure, design and test an F1 car in time for the 2010 season, pay to enter the F1 series (it ain't cheap, mate) and hire drivers who will prove competent and can attract sponsorship.
Windsor said during the weekend that he and Anderson have the money (it will cost upwards of $100 million, by some estimates) to get the project going. He hinted that in their opinion, modern F1 teams have been wasting millions of dollars and they intend to do things significantly differently.
Good luck to them. Many ex-F1 people will tell them that – like so much in life – it's not all that hard to start something, it's the keeping it going that's the problem.
This is where Kyle Busch comes in. First, there is no doubt that he is the very best young North American racing driver out there today. But more important – except for Danica Patrick – he is also the best-known young North American racing driver out there today.
To give this new F1 team instant credibility, it has to have – as a driver – someone instantly recognizable. Anderson is no fool and it explains precisely why he told a reporter that Patrick was on his list of drivers (even if he hadn't talked to her).
But while she probably isn't good enough to drive in F1 (although she did very well driving formula cars in Europe early in her career), Kyle Busch certainly is and they should talk to him about it.
The press conference announcing the details of the new team will be carried live on Speed today at noon. The Star