Since the top NASCAR drivers make as much, if not more, than most of the top F1 drivers, I can't imagine why they would want to make that switch.
Forbes magazine annually lists the highest paid athletes in the world. The top NASCAR drivers routinely earn over $10 million a year and Jeff Gordon for the last several years has been the second highest paid race driver in the world, behind only Schumacher. Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s estate earns between $20 and $30 million per year, per published reports. Who in F1 will earn that, other than Kimi and Alonso? If you aren't in one of the top 3 teams, you have no chance of winning in F1. How is that sport? Have you considered the fact that the top drivers in NASCAR might actually want to be in NASCAR?!?
I wasn't referring to your quote, I was referring to the statement that NASCAR drivers are the equal of the best in the world. Crazynova23 said it in post #65. If you took the time to check, as I did, you would have found this out quite easily. Yes, I can read. Unfortunately you apparently cannot. You have made a number of statements which have been proven false. Are you going to continue or should I haul out your "you are entitled to your own opinion but not your own facts" quote? You have wasted an awful lot of bandwidth while adding absolutely nothing to our conversation.
What's ol' Dale drivin' these days? ...the distinction between 'driver salary' and 'licensing revenue derived from sales of bobble-head dolls' is lost on you? Granted, it's not some phony esteem building t-ball series. Being driver enough to contribute to developing a winning car is an element of the competition. "A man's got to know his limitations".
The distinction between "coherent argument" and "rambling provocations" mean anything to you? The top NASCAR drivers earn salaries of up to $10 million a year, per Forbes and Sports Illustrated. I don't see too many F1 drivers with retainers that large. Ferrari drivers earn no salary from the team, Marlboro pays the driver retainers. Schumacher earns at least as much per year from endorsements as he does in retainer, again from Forbes magazine. Does it really matter where the money comes from when you make $30, 40 or 50 million a year? Team salary, sponsor retainer or licensing revenue? Top drivers in NASCAR have no financial incentive to leave. Furthermore, there are plenty of drivers who see no reason to leave their series for the processional races of F1. Rossi turned down Ferrari, did he not? Do you think he is a second-stringer? Some guys actually enjoy racing in a series where driver involvement actually means something. Put Schumacher in a Spyker and where do you think he'll finish? On any given weekend, 20 drivers can potentially win in NASCAR, on that same weekend in F1, the number is 2. You make no sense whatsoever. I think you are simply trolling for arguments and have no intention of actually contributing anything substantial to the discussion.
Guys, hmmm, getting unhealthy and actually boring for the rest of us ... lets leave this thread for a few days and move on with life . It's such a shame that you guys cannot just wander down to your local and have this chat face to face, probably agree more than you would ever imagine ... this 'worded' chat world causes so many problems. In the end I've recently realised, and it has knocked the wind out of me somewhat, that all motorsport is contrived ... thus is it really worth getting so passionate about anymore? Best Pete
