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Shane Van Gisbergen is trying his hand at full-time NASCAR in 2024. He is far from the only driver from another racing series to compete full-time in a NASCAR National Touring Series. How have these drivers fared?
Juan Pablo Montoya was already well-established when he came to NASCAR in 2007. He was a CART Champion, Indianapolis 500 Winner, and a multi-time Formula One Grand Prix winner. He ran 7 full-time Cup Series seasons between 2007 and 2013.
He drove all of those seasons for Chip Ganassi Racing, and he had some good moments. He won two Cup Series races and one Xfinity Series race, all on road courses, and he even made the Cup Series Playoffs in 2009. However, he failed to win a race on an oval, and, most fans remember him for slamming into a jet dryer after a mechanical failure during the 2012 Daytona 500.
Marcus Ambrose joined NASCAR after 5 Supercars seasons and 2 Championships. If any racer can gauge how SVG can do, it’s Ambrose. He ran almost full-time in Trucks in 2006, full-time in Xfinity from 2007-2008, and full-time in Cup from 2009-2015.
He won seven races between Xfinity and Cup, but all of these wins were on road courses. Like Montoya, he failed to win a race on an oval, and, Ambrose also failed to make the Playoffs. He was solid overall in the Cup Series, and he never got an opportunity in top equipment.
Danica Patrick was a sensation in IndyCar as the first female to ever win a race. She first dipped her toe into NASCAR in 2010, and she jumped into full-time competition in 2012. She had one full-time Xfinity season and 5 full-time Cup seasons from 2013-2017.
Well, she underperformed and there’s no other way to put it. She was driving for one of the top teams in the sport, and she failed to record a Cup Series top-5 finish or even finish in the top 20 in points. Yeah, there’s no good way to spin that considering she was driving for a top team.
Scott Speed jumped to NASCAR after two full-time seasons in Formula One. His time in F1 was forgettable as he never scored a point. He moved to NASCAR in 2008, and he ran in the Cup Series full-time in 2009 and 2010.
He showed flashes on his way up the ranks with a win in the Truck Series and even a win in ARCA. However, he flamed out as he moved up to the Cup Series. While teammate Brian Vickers made the Playoffs, Speed struggled to run in the top 30, and he moved back to part-time before retiring altogether.
A.J. Allmendinger spent three seasons in Champ Car, and he won five races. He jumped to NASCAR in 2007 at the age of 25, and he has made a successful career in NASCAR. Of all the drivers on this list, he is easily the most accomplished.
It took him until 2014 to get his first Cup Series win, but, his move to Kaulig Racing in 2021 changed his career. He moved to the Xfinity Series with Kaulig, and he began to compete for Championships. He also won two more Cup Series races on road courses. Unlike other drivers on this list, Allmendinger won races on ovals in the Xfinity Series, but, he has failed to do so yet in the Cup Series.
The late John Andretti was a winner in IndyCar before jumping to NASCAR full-time in 1994. He ran 8 full-time seasons and 393 Cup Series races over 17 years. He also spent some time in the Xfinity and Truck Series.
He also did something that all drivers before him on this list failed to do, win a race on an oval. He won the summer race at Daytona in 1997 and the spring race at Martinsville in 1998. He never finished in the top-10 in points, but, he had a solid NASCAR career.
Robby Gordon enjoyed a decent IndyCar career before moving to NASCAR. He won 2 races before joining the Cup Series full-time in 2002.
He won three races, including two on ovals. However, he was not an exceptionally popular driver amongst fans due to some antics on the race track. Still, he had some solid races on the track.
How will SVG do in NASCAR? Will he top the accomplishments of these drivers?
