Can guys like Christian Fittipaldi succeed in NASCAR?
Doubtful. You’ve got to embroil yourself in the culture down there-you know, to understand the dialect, the inflections, to achieve empathy with crew chiefs. NASCAR isn’t a universal language. Could Michael Schumacher do it? I’d like to see him try, see him have his head handed to him on a platter. Drivers who’ve driven real race cars can’t come down here and drive stock cars, because they’re the worst race cars on the planet. I mean, aside from no electronics, no technology, just look at the tires-same size front and rear. What real racer does that? You know, Tim Richmond once kept complaining to Harry Hyde that his car was loose. Harry cut off the rear spoiler and sent him back out. He said, “Now he’ll learn the definition of loose.” I recall when Jeff Burton had an ear infection and couldn’t drive, so I put Todd Bodine in his car. Todd comes in, says, “Jack, I need different springs, new front bar, different pressures, big weight shift.” The crew gets ready to do it, but I grabbed M
