A lot has been said and done over the past few weeks over which driver from which motorsport discipline could adapt better to the other’s craft. The debate came to fruition when Kyle Larson deemed himself a better and more rounded racing driver than reigning F1 world champion Max Verstappen and has since raged on between NASCAR and F1 personalities.
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The latest stock car racing personality to join in on the argument is two time Cup Series champion and driver of the #22 Ford Mustang fielded by Team Penske — Joey Logano.
Logano seemingly took an objective approach to answer the question and highlighted the vast differences between stock car racing and an open-wheeled series. Touching on not only the different types of machinery driven by the drivers in both series but also the stark difference in the style of racing, Logano did not deem the comparison a fair one.
However, he did touch on how the oval racing aspect of NASCAR could be that much harder for someone from the open-wheeled racing scene to grasp. While speaking with the media at the pre-race press conference at Darlington Raceway, Logano told the media, “I’m sure there are amazing race car drivers in both series 100%.”
He added, “It’s unfair to think that either one of us can switch and be competitive automatically. Like no way. On a road course it might be the closest for them to have a chance to be in the hunt, but you put one of them on an oval, they’re not going to have a clue what to do.”
What @F1 and @NASCAR driver would you like to see swap rides? pic.twitter.com/A4FRpQcx3Z
— I Want to Believe Nascar (@IWTBNASCAR) April 3, 2021
The Team Penske driver elaborated that, if given enough time, drivers from either discipline could successfully contend in the other series. He took the example of former Williams F1 driver turned NASCAR racer Juan Pablo Montoya and added, “Juan Pablo, right, maybe the first one that comes to mind, it took him a while to become competitive in NASCAR and he’s an amazing talent, right? So, it’s just different. It’s what did you do growing up and what did you do for the last 15 years? Probably gonna be better at it.”
With more drivers like Kyle Busch and Fernando Alonso weighing in on both sides of the debate, the resolution to this long-standing argument in global motorsport remains uncertain.
