On a rare weekend off, many NASCAR drivers head back where they came from. And we’re not talking about sitting in Mom’s living room eating a holiday feast. Instead, they want to visit their local dirt track, make a few laps in a sprint car or just take their kids go-karting. Most of the top-tier drivers in Sprint Cup got their start through the stock car ranks or from open-wheel series. A notable exception? Six-time champ Jimmie Johnson had success in off-road racing before signing on to drive stock cars in the now-defunct American Speed Association (ASA).
Stock Car Racers
Because we’re all familiar with AA- and AAA-baseball and the farm system, it might be easy to visualize drivers working their way through a similar hierarchy on the way to Spring Cup success. Sure, drivers do get called up regularly from the Xfinity series, sometimes just to go to bat while a regular driver is injured. But that is pretty much where the similarities end. Some drivers do begin in the NASCAR Weekly Racing series at a local track, work their way to running truck series or Xfinity and then land a ride with a Sprint Cup team. That’s how it worked for Dale Earnhardt Jr., Denny Hamlin, Greg Biffle and Kevin Harvick.
While there are a number of alternate routes, ASA and the Pro Cup touring series were both popular launching grounds. Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth, in addition to Johnson, ran ASA. Pro Cup trained Xfinity series champ Brian Vickers among others.
It’s notable, too, that many young drivers are getting their first taste of racing from behind the wheel of a Bandelero or Legends car in an INEX-sanctioned series. Designed to be less expensive and easier to work on than a go-kart, these cars allow youngsters and adults alike to go racing without breaking the bank. Joey Logano and Reed Sorenson competed against one another in Legends cars, and Kurt and Kyle Busch both raced Legends as well.
Open-Wheel Drivers
While open-wheel stars haven’t always had success in NASCAR’s top tiers, there are those who have been so successful that it’s easy to forget they didn’t come through the stock car ranks. Tony Stewart, who began in go-karts and sprint cars, is the only driver to ever win a title in both the IndyCar series and NASCAR Sprint Cup. Of course, almost two decades and three championships later, some fans probably don’t even realize Tony began his career in open-wheel racing.
The sprint car series, whether it is USAC or World of Outlaws, actually produces a large number of NASCAR’s biggest names. Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne and Kyle Larson all drove these high-powered, lightweight cars. Of course, they didn’t just jump in a sprint car and hit the track. Many of them had already had success in go-karts with the World Karting Association or other karting organizations. This is where Gordon began, as well as other well-known names such as Ricky Rudd, Darrell Waltrip and Juan Pablo Montoya. A similar number come from a quarter midget background. These drivers include Jeff Gordon, Brad Keselowski and the Labonte brothers.
So what’s the lesson here? While some types of experience may offer advantages in some situations, it really doesn’t seem to matter where a driver got his start. As long as he — or she — has the natural ability, the necessary equipment and a top-notch team, anyone can win the race on Sunday.
All of NASCAR’s top three series are off this weekend, but the Sprint Cup teams will head to Texas next week for the Duck Commander 500.