F1 veterans Jarno Trulli and Mika Salo to test Waltrip Toyota NASCAR in Florida

F1 veterans Jarno Trulli and Mika Salo to test Waltrip Toyota NASCAR in Florida

Filed under: Motorsports, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Toyota



Up until a few years ago, seeing a driver switch from one motorsport discipline to another was practically unheard of. A Formula One driver might compete at Le Mans, sure, but with few exceptions, that was about the extent of it. Now we've got drivers interested in switching between F1, rallying and even motorbikes in a big game of musical chairs. Once unfathomable, however, the biggest trend is a growing cadre of F1 drivers migrating to NASCAR.

Following similar moves by Juan Pablo Montoya, Jacques Villeneuve and Scott Speed, to name just a few, and rumors of Nelsinho Piquet's intended move, comes news that Toyota's Jarno Trulli (pictured above) is scheduled to test drive a stock car next month at USA International Speedway in Lakeland, Florida. After attending a Sprint Cup race last year in Michigan, and reportedly several more to observe Montoya's progress, Trulli asked his employers at Toyota to arrange a test session for him, so they set him up with the Michael Waltrip Racing team - which races under the Toyota banner - for a two-day test in November.

Joining Trulli at the test session will reportedly be one Mika Salo, the Finnish driver who competed in F1 from 1994 to 2002. Over his career, Salo raced for Lotus, Tyrrell, Arrows, BAR, Sauber and Toyota, but his best results were a pair of podiums scored when filling in for an injured Michael Schumacher at Ferrari in 1999. Recently, he's been racing for Risi Competizione in the Le Mans Series, and took the GT2 class win at Le Mans last year, but now he's looking to switch to oval tracks.

For his part, Trulli insists the session is just for fun. But Toyota is not expected to renew his contract for next season, and he'll will be looking for another ride in F1. If he doesn't find it, he may find NASCAR a compelling option.

[Source: Autosport | Image: Kiyoshi Ota/Getty]F1 veterans Jarno Trulli and Mika Salo to test Waltrip Toyota NASCAR in Florida originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 12 Oct 2009 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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nascar owners don't have the patience or money to wait for a driver to develop. there's been many failed attempts at open wheel drivers making the switch. it takes a good 3-5 years to be competitive and time frame depends on the team the driver is on. it's taken montoya 3 years to be able to run at the front, but gnassi is behind his driver, just penske is behind hornish. usually a driver should run trucks or arca first before going to busch and then on to the big cars. i have high hopes for patrick carpentier with bootie barker.

i like dale jr, but since the move to the new car it shows what kind of driver he is or lack of driver i should say. no longer can teams rely on notes which was teams had stacks of on the old car. when nascar releases the new car for the busch series you will see him fail at that also.