5 F1 drivers that raced in NASCAR

F1 and NASCAR are two completely different genres of racing. While F1 has more of a global reach, NASCAR is more or less a staple of the American audience. While F1 drivers do look like professional athletes, NASCAR drivers, well, not so much, because the physical demand is probably not as strenuous. Having said that, multiple F1 drivers have made their way into NASCAR at one time or the other. In this piece, let's take a look at some of them.

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F1 drivers that raced in NASCAR

#1 Jacques Villeneuve

The 1997 Formula 1 World Champion left the sport in 2006 and has tried his hand at multiple series' ever since. Jacques Villeneuve went on to participate in the LeMans 24 hours, WEC, and even NASCAR.

He has had an on-again, off-again relationship with the series, making one-off appearances here and there. The former champion even has a pole position to his name in the series, and currently drives the #27 Ford for the non-chartered Team Hezeberg.

#2 Juan Pablo Montoya

Juan Pablo Montoya was always an outlaw. The Colombian did things the way he wanted to. He was already a champion in Champcar when he made his debut in Formula 1 in 2000. After his successful stint in the sport, Montoya made his way to NASCAR and Indycar.

Montoya subsequently tasted some success in the series as well with 9 pole positions and 2 wins to his name.

#3 Kimi Raikkonen

Kimi Raikkonen, after his ouster from Ferrari at the end of 2009, tried his hands in multiple categories. The Finn went rallying in one of his earlier experiments with limited success. Then in 2011, Raikkonen tried his hand at NASCAR as well. The Iceman took part in a few outings with not much to speak of (other than a fine for speeding in the pitlane) and then made his way back into Formula 1 with Lotus in 2012.

#4 Mario Andretti

One of the more usual suspects of an F1 driver that has raced in NASCAR has to be an American, right? Mario Andretti, the former Formula 1 world champion, was part of the series at a very early stage of his career. He competed in 14 NASCAR events in his career and won the 1967 Daytona 500 for Holman Moody.

#5 Dan Gurney

Another American on our list, Dan Gurney was one of the more successful Formula 1 drivers that made the switch to NASCAR. He is one of the few drivers in motorsporting history who raced in both the sports simultaneously from 1959 to 1970. Gurney is also one of the only three drivers to notch up wins in both NASCAR and Formula 1, the other two being Andretti and Montoya. The 'inventor' of the Gurney flap, he was the first driver to don a full-faced helmet at the 1968 German GP, which is now a regular sight.