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The twilight of Fernando Alonso’s motorsport career has taken a decidedly American slant. He entered the Indy 500 last year, driving admirably for a rookie, before the familiar gremlin of a Honda engine failure put an early end to his race. This Saturday, Alonso will enter the 24 Hours of Daytona, alongside McLaren prospect Lando Norris, where he will drive United Autosports’ Ligier LMP2.
And now, the Formula 1 champ has expressed an interest in dipping his toes into the NASCAR pool.
“It’s something it would be nice to test a NASCAR, to get the feel, and while you’re driving you will know if you will enjoy racing there or not,” said Alonso in an interview with Motorsport. “From the outside I enjoy watching the races, but from the inside it’s a very different thing.”
“The traffic management, the strategy you need to get, the draft, and the push, from one line to another—that kind of strategy is the biggest thing that I miss [from my skillset] if I race in NASCAR. I will need a lot of experience, a lot of years, probably that I don’t have any more in my career right now.”
Some have speculated that Alonso could use this weekend’s race in Daytona as preparation to race the 24 Hours of Le Mans one day, as part of his bid to be the second driver in history to achieve the Triple Crown—an informal achievement requiring a driver to have won the Monaco Grand Prix, Indy 500, and 24 Hours of Le Mans. Alonso already has one of these feathers in his hat, and he may be poised to seize the second with a future entry at Indianapolis or Le Mans.
