 Image: SHR Twitter We can all probably list 4 or 5 very good suggestions in the pipeline, some very probable suggestions. I've got one that not many people have on their radar right now. Just a couple weeks ago, NASCAR went to Circuit of the Americas. At Circuit of the Americas NASCAR had 2 Former Formula 1 Champions in the field, one of which is rumored to have stated that they were so enthused by their experience in the Cup cars that they may be looking to run a full time driver. 2009 F1 World Champion Jenson Button ran what was essentially a 5th Stewart-Hass Racing Mustang at CotA in what became his first ever NASCAR start. Jenson suffered from the heat inside the car down in Texas (F1 obviously being open cockpit cars and NASCAR, enclosed). "Finished 18th after almost stopping because I had heat exhaustion. It was so hot. I don't have a fan in my seat, which really didn't help me too much," Button said."I stopped twice for a minute. They put ice on me, gave me loads of water, and I went back out." Jenson stated he was shocked by the close quarters racing and the steep learning curve. Although he was not a fan in the early goings of the race, he did come on the radio after the checkered laughing and talking about how fun the race became. Author and F1 journalist Joe Saward stated in his blog; "Jenson Button is so enthused by his recent adventure in NASCAR that he is seriously looking at trying to become a full-time NASCAR driver in the future, on ovals as well as road courses, and as international drivers are what NASCAR is desperate to get these days, that could happen. Jenson is certainly up for it." Jenson could almost certainly fill sponsorship and could even be a great bargaining chip for Stewart-Hass Racing to keep Anheuser-Busch onboard for at least 1 more season. Jenson could also become a season-long fill-in driver for the SHR team to continue developing a full-time Harvick replacement in a very shallow Ford Performance development pool.
Bringing more international eyeballs back to NASCAR after the loss of drivers such as Juan Pablo Montoya and Marcos Ambrose could also be a HUGE benefit to the sport as a whole. That would make it a win win for NASCAR & SHR. The sport gets possibly new sponsorship and viewership, SHR gets the same, plus an experienced and hungry new driver. By: Tom Luttermoser
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