Open-wheel drivers face same challenges as Mario (cont'd)

"It [acceptance] is more of a fan situation because I'm beginning to think NASCAR is purely an American sport," Andretti said.

"But that's why it works - Americans want to cheer for Americans," Miller said. "When CART was in its heyday in the early and mid-90s and had Nigel Mansell and Emerson Fittipaldi, they were great world-class drivers, but there were still Americans like Robby Gordon, Scott Pruett, Michael Andretti, Jimmy Vasser, Danny Sullivan and Al Unser Jr. It was a great melting pot of talent. The people that went to the CART races loved the fact that there were great foreign drivers there but you're talking about a whole different animal in NASCAR."

Even if every NASCAR fan in America embraces this rush of foreign and open wheel drivers, the welcome mat will not teach these newcomers the idiosyncrasies of driving a stock car. Patience and learning to finesse the heavy machines are two of the toughest lessons to master.

"When Paul Tracy drove the Busch races last year, he said it's different because you can't be that aggressive and you have to be patient," Miller said. "NASCAR races are not one-and-a-half or two-hour races like these open wheel guys are used to. You can't go for the throat and run as hard as you can the whole race.

"These guys have to focus on conserving tires, staying awake, making 9,000 pit stops and trying not to crash. Franchitti is a very patient guy and it might play to his strengths because he's got 500-mile races to get the car dialed in."

Demanding more from the car than it is capable of giving can be one of the pitfalls awaiting these open wheel newcomers.

"From a driver's standpoint, especially a seasoned driver like Dario Franchitti, it's probably overdriving the car [the toughest thing to learn]," Andretti said. "This is one of the first things we talked about when Juan Montoya came in. When he figures it out, the better he's going to be. There have been times when he's gotten the best of himself because an open wheel racer is used to a lot higher speed, a lot more cornering force and they have a tendency to really barrel in and waste the lap time sliding around.

"That's what I experienced myself. It's all about containing yourself and trying to give it [the car] only all it will accept."

A good place to hone these much-needed skills is in the Truck Series.

"I think it's a good place to learn, in the trucks," Andretti said. "I think Dario is doing the right thing there. What he learns will be very beneficial when he gets to the Cup car. Experience is always golden. If I were doing it, I would try to run trucks and Busch along the way and try to speed up the learning curve."

With all this new information to keep in mind, what is a sufficient amount of time to adjust to this new series and race car?

"It's a learning curve," Miller said. "These guys will get enough testing and the right kind of testing. The tough thing with Franchitti and Montoya is they will look to their teammate to lean on and he's young. They don't have someone who's been around 20 years to tell them about the tracks, the tires, the gears and the strategy.

"As far as the owners are concerned, even if you've got someone to be patient with you -- Sam Hornish does with Roger Penske and he's not going to throw Sam out after one or two years," Miller continued. "Whereas, will Chip Ganassi be patient with Juan Pablo Montoya and Dario Franchitti? Don't bet on it."

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