Don’t expect Dale Earnhardt Jr. to channel Fernando Alonso anytime soon.
Earnhardt, who retired from full-time NASCAR driving after last season, was asked by a fan Tuesday whether he’d ever consider racing in the Indianapolis 500. And while it certainly would be fascinating to see the NASCAR legend compete in “The Greatest Spectacle In Racing,” Earnhardt had a perfectly reasonable explanation for why he won’t be making an open-wheel cameo.
Fair enough.
It’s not uncommon for professional racers to jump for one circuit to another. Alonso, of course, grabbed the racing world’s attention last year when he ditched the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix in favor of running in the Indy 500.
But while transitioning from F1 to the Verizon Indy Car Series was by no means an easy task for the 36-year-old Spaniard, one must assume it would be tougher to jump from a stock car to an open-wheel racer rather than from one open-wheel to another. So, it’s easy to understand why Earnhardt, now 43 years old, wouldn’t be comfortable randomly inserting himself into IndyCar’s premier event.
Still, Earnhardt has considerable interest in the Indy 500.
Who knows? Maybe he’ll catch the IndyCar bug after a trip to Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Danica Patrick, for one, still can’t help but scratch that itch.
For now, NASCAR fans can look forward to Earnhardt’s impending debut in the broadcast booth. Plus, he plans to run at least one NASCAR Xfinity Series race before the end of the 2018 season.
