Does oval racing dull road racing skills ???

I think one reason this is coming up because the quality of the talent has greatly diminished. All the top USAC/WOO talent is going right to NASCAR and the top F1 guys don't come here after their short F1 carriers are over. Look, a top class driver like Foyt, Stewart, or Mansel can adjust to anything very quickly.

I can still remember Montoya's maiden trip to Indy when people thought his lack of experience would cost him. Instead he put on a clinic about how to race on cold tires and push the car to its physical limit without hitting the wall. I'd say 80% of street/road racers adapt very well to oval racing of most varieties.

On the flip side only about 20% of the oval discipline seem to adapt well to turning the car in both directions and dealing with camber and grading on street circuits. Ms. Fisher is a prime example.

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Originally Posted by Starter

Really? I can think of Foyt, Andretti (the elder) and Mears. Who else did you have in mind? Nearly all the other top open wheel drivers came from road racing backgrounds.

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Well I wasn't just thinking about open-wheel. I was thinking of stock cars and sports cars. Examples there would be Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, and Dale Earnhart (both senior and junior). All of them have good records at road races and have run well in sports car races.

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Originally Posted by jarrambide

I can´t but think about Nigel Mansell, who went from no oval experience at all to winning the CART title when the series had a lot of ovals, didn´t his second oval race ever was the 93 Indy 500? (does a tri-oval counts as his first oval race, cause I don´t know if the 500 is his 1st or 2nd oval depending on your opinions of tri-ovals), finishing 3rd on the 500 when is your 2nd oval sounds good in my book.

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Just the one I was going to bring up!

Another frame of comparison:
I saw Danica get punted out of pole at T1 in Portland Atlantic race II. She then spent the remainder of the race picking off most of the field by passing them on the track. Second place in the Formula Ford Festival, the most competitive racing anywhere.

And after a couple years of oval, oval, oval? Need I say more?

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Originally Posted by Miatanut

Just the one I was going to bring up!

Another frame of comparison:
I saw Danica get punted out of pole at T1 in Portland Atlantic race II. She then spent the remainder of the race picking off most of the field by passing them on the track. Second place in the Formula Ford Festival, the most competitive racing anywhere.

And after a couple years of oval, oval, oval? Need I say more?

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You apparently saw something no one else has seen; she has never done anything, anywhere, even to date.

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Originally Posted by Wilf

You apparently saw something no one else has seen; she has never done anything, anywhere, even to date.

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Oh Lordy, conspiracy schemes run wild. The EVIL ovals plan world domination.

Her failling is due to either her lessor talent or her self-absorbing attitudes that what ever is wrong is NOT HER FAULT.

BUT then maybe they should require any IRL driver to drive at least five sprint car races a year that would put the fear of God in them.

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Originally Posted by BenRoethig

Look, a top class driver ........... can adjust to anything very quickly.

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I think this is the most accurate comment.

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Originally Posted by Bob Riebe

Oh Lordy, conspiracy schemes run wild. The EVIL ovals plan world domination.

Her failling is due to either her lessor talent or her self-absorbing attitudes that what ever is wrong is NOT HER FAULT.

BUT then maybe they should require any IRL driver to drive at least five sprint car races a year that would put the fear of God in them.

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Oh h!!!, even the sprint car races of today are becoming one groove, follow the leader events. The only dicing anymore is getting through lapped traffic.