JUNE 18, 2004

NASCAR boys come to F1 (again)

NASCAR drivers Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Brian Vickers and possibly the sport's biggest name Dale Earnhardt Jr will be jetting into Indianapolis on Saturday to watch Formula 1 qualifying. The Nextel Cup is at Michigan International Speedway in Booklyn, Michigan this weekend and the NASCAR stars will take Jeff Gordon's plane down to Indianapolis before returning to Michigan for the final practice, known as Happy Hour, on Saturday afternoon.

Such activities can only help to raise the profile of F1 in the United States where Gordon and Earnhardt are household names. Earnhardt's visit will, if it happens, be on behalf of his sponsor Budweiser, which is also a backer of the Williams F1 team.

Gordon and Johnson visited the Spanish GP recently and seem to be developing quite a taste for Grand Prix racing.