NASCAR driver Casey Mears thinks that the reason why so many top-level stock car drivers are being drawn to rallycross is down to the discipline’s ‘fun’ races.
After attending the 2017 season finale in Los Angeles, Mears added his name to a list of NASCAR race winners including Kurt Busch (below), Tony Stewart, and Carl Edwards that have expressed an interest in either testing or racing in Red Bull Global Rallycross.
Nelson Piquet Jr, Steve Arpin, and Scott Speed have already successfully made the switch from NASCAR to Red Bull GRC, and following his firsthand experience of the series, Mears told The Checkered Flag that the championship’s fun factor is what’s turning drivers from a more traditional background onto it.
Kurt Busch tested a Red Bull GRC car back in 2013 – Credit: Red Bull GRC
“I think first and foremost it’s just fun,” said Mears. “Being in the dirt, the pavement, sliding around, and the tight racing, it just looks like a lot of fun.”
“I think the shorter, quicker races are enticing after doing so many years of really long races, so I think that’s why some people are considering GRC.”
While the intensity of the NASCAR schedule means that people rarely look out of that circle, Mears said that a number of drivers have been positive about Red Bull GRC.
“I did have some conversations with a handful of drivers that are aware of the series and think it’s interesting and think it would be fun to drive,” Mears revealed. “Everybody thinks it looks cool; that’s kind of the first thing they say. The cars look fun, the racing looks cool, but obviously they’re so immersed in what they do on a weekly basis that it’s hard to look outside of that much.”
Recently a number of prominent NASCAR drivers spoke positively about the series’ recent addition to iRacing after sampling the update to the popular online racing simulator.
