Head2Head: Open-wheel drivers earning Cup rides

Fact is, NASCAR is about putting the best 43 drivers in the starting lineup -- and if those 43 come from Podunk, USA, or were once open-wheel heroes, who cares about their background or how they got in the driver's seat?

NASCAR should be the breeding ground for future Cup stars, but not coming up through the bushes shouldn't preclude other talented drivers from getting a chance to drive in the big leagues. I mean, c'mon, these international stars didn't get to the top of open-wheel racing by being bums behind the wheel!

Mario Andretti is one of the all-time greats in open-wheel racing and he won the Daytona 500, the Super Bowl of stock-car racing. Should his victory in the Great American Race have an asterisk? No! At that time (1967) he was one of the best drivers on the planet. Fast forward 40 years and who's to say that Dario Franchitti won't follow in Andretti's footsteps?

Yes, it's taken a while for NASCAR to unseat open-wheel racing as the favorite among motor racing fans, but that is to be commended -- not blatantly bashed because "they ain't from 'round here," or because these drivers speak with an accent.

Times change -- and so has NASCAR, in many ways for the betterment of the sport. The fact that other series' champions want to be part of the stock-car racing game should be embraced. NASCAR has come a long way from the days when the most you could hope for was five minutes of highlights on ABC's Wide World of Sports.

Make no mistake that these newcomers are getting their opportunity because of the possibility of more sponsorship dollars. For better or worse, money is the difference-maker; better technology, more proficient engines; more engineering; better overall performance.

Team owners -- the guys who foot the bills -- are being prudent in trying to get the best driving talent hooked up with deep-pocket sponsors in the attempt to compete for victories each week. The likes of Jacques Villeneuve, Sam Hornish Jr. and Franchitti are sure to raise eyebrows when teams are making sales pitches.

However, the bottom line is performance. If a driver cannot produce it doesn't matter if his address is a rural route or international, he won't stay behind the wheel wasting money with back-of-the-pack finishes.

Rest assured: Team owners are riding the wave -- international names = sponsorship dollars. If it doesn't pay off, there's always another wave waiting to be ridden.

For years, the only way to get to NASCAR's premier series was to work your way up the ladder. Start out in the lowest division at your local Saturday night short track, advance to Late Models, run well in a regional touring series, step up to ARCA or Busch and then get noticed by an owner scouting for new talent.

It made sense: Get experience running stock cars with progressively more powerful engines and on larger and faster ovals. That worked for stars like Bill Elliott, Darrell Waltrip and Rusty Wallace.

Then around 1993, the game changed slightly when Jeff Gordon hit the scene, followed by Tony Stewart, Kenny Irwin, Kasey Kahne and others. Suddenly having guys with sprint car experience was in vogue. With the current chassis, car control is paramount. And one of the best ways to learn, according to those in the know, is running a front-engine car with a high power-to-weight ratio on dirt or clay.

It used to be that sprint car guys had their own ladder, which led to the Indianapolis 500. But as open-wheel formula cars became more technologically advanced and required a different driving style over the past two decades, those owners went looking for drivers with experience in go-karts and rear-engine cars, which led them to Europe and South America.

So why, all of a sudden, has it become trendy to stick open-wheel veterans like Jacques Villeneuve, Dario Franchitti and Sam Hornish Jr. -- all wonderful drivers in their own discipline but having little, if any, stock-car experience -- in top Cup rides? Blame Juan Montoya. But he's a special talent, a one-of-a-kind driver. If it was so easy to go from one to the other, why isn't Paul Tracy still here?

Additionally, what's the message owners are trying to send to Danny O'Quinn, Ashton Lewis, Stephen Leicht, Burney Lamar or any of the other young NASCAR drivers working their way through the ladder? Sorry, boys, but running well in the Busch Series isn't nearly as important as bringing a big-time sponsor or an Indy 500 victory to the table.

And it's not just the kids getting squeezed out. Good drivers like Tony Raines and David Stremme are pounding the pavement, looking for work right now.

Sure, globalization has worked for baseball. But we're talking about a small percentage of the 750 full-time jobs available. In NASCAR, there are only 43 cars each week -- and those rides should go to the drivers who work their way up the ladder, not the ones who buy their way in.