Top 5 Formula 1 drivers who made the switch to NASCAR

Top 5 Formula 1 drivers to switch to NASCAR

By: Brian Cotnoir

Formula 1 is seen as the pinnacle of racing in Europe and many parts of the rest of the World.  Meanwhile here in America; NASCAR is King.   While it’s very unlikely a driver will use NASCAR as a stepping stone to racing in Formula 1, in recent years we’ve seen some of Formula 1’s best and brightest towards the twilight of their attempt to make a splash in NASCAR.  Others were considered to be “Busts in Formula 1”, and looked to prove their worth in other forms of racing.  All five of these drivers are some of the Best in the World, and whether they succeeded in NASCAR or not, you cannot deny their greatness.  Oh and just one disclaimer: Mario Andretti raced and won in NASCAR before he entered a race in Formula 1, so therefore he will not be included on this list.

5.)  Jacques Villeneuve

Jacques Villeneuve is the son of an F1 racing lesson.  He followed in the footsteps of this famous father, winning the 1995 Indy 500 and championship!  He then made the jump to Formula 1 to join the mighty Williams F1 team.  He won the drivers’ championship in 1997, only his second season in F1.  However, after leaving Williams at the end of the 1998 season Villeneuve had some very lackluster results in F1, and his career in F1 more-or-less fizzled out. 

In 2007, Villeneuve made some starts in NASCAR with Bill Davis Racing, making 2 starts in the Cup Series and several starts at the end of the Truck Series season.   A full-time ride deal with Bill Davis Racing fell through, but his driving services were in high demand for the Road Course races in the Grand National Series.  In 8 starts in the Grand National series—all on road courses—Villeneuve has four Top 5’s and six finishes in the Top 10.  His best result was a 3^rd place.  Since then Villeneuve has run select races in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series, and in 2019 he ran his first full season in the NASCAR Euro Series

Sucks this ride didn't work out

4.)  Max Papis

Italian Max Papis ran a very disappointing seven races for the struggling Footwork F1 team in 1995.  Papis would come to race in America; not in NASCAR, but in the CART series where he saw some moderate success in the series, winning 3 races.

Starting in 2006, Papis was recruited as a “Road Course Ringer” by NASCAR teams in the Cup & Grand National Series.  Papis became the first Italian-born driver to race in NASCAR since the legendary, Mario Andretti.  Papis was usually one of the favorites to win the Road Course races at in the Grand National Series, with his best finish in the sport being a 2^nd at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in 2010.  In 2009, Papis ran part-time in the Cup Series with his Germain Racing team.  Papis failed to qualify for a handful of races, and his best finish was an 8^th place at Watkins Glen.  In 2010, Papis was signed to a full-time deal at Germain.   He qualified for the Daytona 500, but only finished 40^th place.  He failed to qualify for 4 races and never finished inside the Top 20, and he was dropped by the team with 13 races to go in the season.

He would return to Germain Racing in 2011, but this time in the NASCAR Truck Series.  He qualified for every race that season and had finished in the Top 10 twice, finishing 18^th in the final points standings.  He is probably best remember for being slapped by driver Mike Skeen’s girlfriend after a race a Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.

3.)  Scott Speed

Scott Speed’s success in Formula 1 was nothing to brag about.   To date he was the last Formula 1 driver from America with a full-time ride.  In 1.5 seasons at Toro Rosso Speed’s best finish was a 9^th place (however this was at a time when only the Top 8 received points).  Speed was constantly at odds ends with his team, and often accused the team of favoring his Italian teammate Vitantonio Liuzzi over him.  Speed would be replaced at Toro Rosso by Sebastian Vettel halfway through the 2007 season, but his sponsor Red Bull still saw potential in him.   He was sent back to America to race for the recently formed Red Bull NASCAR team.  

Not the best results in F1

Speed raced in 4 different series; NASCAR Cup Series, the Grand National Series, the Truck Series, and the ARCA Series between 2008 and 2011.   He showed great potential in ARCA winning four oval races in 2008, and finished 5^th in the championship.  That same year he also got his first truck series win at Dover Speedway.   Speed looked like he was going to take NASCAR by storm; however the disorganization at the Red Bull NASCAR team and the teams struggles in qualifying meant Speed was often in underpowered equipment.  Speed ran 2 full-time seasons in 2009 & 2010 in the Cup Series and only managed one Top 5 finish, and an average point’s finish of 32.5.   He also had seven Top 10’s running part-time in the 2009 Grand National Season for Michael Waltrip Racing.   Scott Speed could have been a more successful driver in NASCAR had Red Bull given him the time to properly develop and go through the ranks.

2.)  Nelson Piquet Jr.

The man I dubbed the “Most Interesting Race Car driver ever” Nelson Piquet Jr.’s F1 career can be summed up with two things: 1.)  Being the son of a 3-time Formula 1 Champion and 2.)  Crashgate.  Piquet Jr. found himself blacklisted by Formula 1 teams after he revealed his former team Renault ordered him to wreck on purpose at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix to give his teammate Fernando Alonso a better chance of winning (which he did).  

A few years later Piquet would find himself racing on Ovals across the NASCAR Truck Series.  In 2011 he finished 10^th in the drivers’ standings with Kevin Harvick Inc. before switching to Turner Motorsports for the 2012 season.  Piquet would win his first two truck races at Michigan and Las Vegas.  He’d also score his first Grand National win at Road America in 2012 in a part-time ride, making him the first Brazilian to win in NASCAR.  That win coupled Piquet’s success in Trucks earned him a full-time ride in the Grand National Series with Turner Motorsports.  He scored a few Top 10 finishes, but after that season he lost his full-time ride.  He only made one start after that way back in 2016, where he finished 38^th at Mid-Ohio.

1.)  Juan Pablo Montoya

Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya was one of the most exciting open-wheel drivers at the turn of the new Millennium.  He won the CART drivers’ championship as a Rookie.   The following year he won his first Indy 500, and then made the jump to Formula 1 to drive for the BMW Williams F1 team.  Montoya was constantly in the running in contention for the Formula 1 drivers’ championship, but that happened to be the same time Michael Schumacher and Ferrari were dominating the sport.   After a year and a half stint at McLaren, Montoya left midway through the 2006 season.

Montoya would return to America to join Chip Ganassi Racing, but this time in the NASCAR Cup Series.  Montoya would win his first race at Sonoma Raceway and would be named the 2007 Cup Series Rookie of the Year.  Montoya also won a Grand National Series race in Mexico City before a delighted Central American fan base.  Montoya would only win one race in the Cup Series at Watkins Glen, but he was a mainstay in the sport for several seasons.  He finished a career best 8^th in the final drivers’ standings during the 2009 season.