Johnson and Kahne say "they are in"

[Scotty G.]

Robin Miller reported today on Indy local radio that both Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne told Randy Bernard at the Prelude, that "they are in" for the Indy 500 next year. They exchanged cell numbers and will discuss further at later dates.

Kyle Busch said he wants to do it, but might wait until he wins a Cup championship. Jeff Gordon said he probably wouldn't be competitive and wouldn't want to try it now. Those are the only 4 drivers Randy spoke to at the Prelude. And Randy told Robin on the way home that he was more confident and encouraged after speaking with them face-to-face, then he was previously.

Robin said Randy wants to talk with a couple of Cup owners (mentioned Rick Hendrick) to guage interest from their side and what it would take to make things work.

Robin said one thing being bantered about is taking the "HONDA" name off of the Cup driver's cars and the badging name off of their engines.

Said there are several things that still need to be worked out, but thinks it will get taken care of.

[anthonyvop]

WhoooooHoooooo.....

That will save Indy Car!!!!!! it is called slumming!

[Scotty G.]

WhoooooHoooooo.....

That will save Indy Car!!!!!! it is called slumming!

No, but it might help save the Indy 500, which is slowly dying and getting less relevent by the year. And a bigger Indy 500 means more sponsors, more eyeballs and possibly more interest in the entire sport.

Continuing on doing the same things and trotting out the same unmarketable, unknown, unsellable drivers ain't gonna cut it.

You want marketable stars, who have fanbases? They ain't in Brazil or Belgium. They are in Charlotte.

[racer69]

What happens if one of these Cup heroes doesn't qualify though?

[anthonyvop]

And a bigger Indy 500 means more sponsors,

Not necessarily. It might bring more exposure to the 500 but will do little to support the series.

You want marketable stars, who have fanbases? They ain't in Brazil or Belgium. They are in Charlotte.

So there are no Brazilian fans? Or Belgian? Do you think the world ends at the US border? You do realize there are tens of thousands of US businesses that do business in other countries? Why do you think that major corporations like ATT, Exxon/Mobil and HP are in F-1 and not Indy Car?


Worse case scenario. A NASCAR driver does really well and embarrasses the established Indy Car stars. It is a distinct possibility.

[SarahFan]

Bring em' on!!

[ShiftingGears]

Looking forward to it.

[champcarray]

I'm looking forward to seeing some NASCAR drivers joing the fray, too. I guess some of the board contributors don't realize that Indy used to attract great non-Indy drivers for "one offs" that spoke to the race's then importance. Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart, Jochen Rindt, Cale Yarborough, Donnie Allison, etc.

[MDS]

It's not slumming, the Indy 500 has historically been about the best drivers in the world competing, during the 1970s F-1 drivers routinely participated in the race, and I think added a lot to Indy's lore and international prestige.

Khane is one of NASCAR's more popular drivers and Jimmy Johnson has by far been the dominate one. They bring credibility, more media coverage, additional story lines and most likely more viewers to the 500.

I'm growing a little tired of people trying to dump on good news.

[anthonyvop]

You are so far behind the times it's scary. That already happened -- JPM.

JPM Started in Indy Cars then went to F-1. Then he ended up in NASCAR when nobody else would hire him.