From racing Champ to chump

He's the latest open-wheel driver to struggle to break into NASCAR.
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- There was a time when open-wheel racers looked down their noses at NASCAR, a form of racing they considered not as demanding or sophisticated as Indy-style racing.
But as the money in NASCAR got bigger, a few of those drivers suddenly became more interested. Perhaps, as Roush Racing team president Geoff Smith suggests, they came to view NASCAR as easy money -- a way to extend their careers and remain competitive against what they saw as lesser competition.
"I remember like when I was starting in Champ Car, drivers would say, 'Those guys? Those guys are no good as drivers,"' says Michel Jourdain Jr., the latest open-wheel driver trying, and struggling, to break into NASCAR.
Tony Stewart left the Indy Racing League to become a NASCAR champion, and Robby Gordon has three career victories. But others haven't fared as well.
Mostly disappointing
The list of open-wheel drivers who flirted with NASCAR in recent years but haven't established themselves as top-level Nextel Cup material includes established drivers such as John Andretti, Christian Fittipaldi, Scott Pruett, Paul Tracy, Max Papis and Jimmy Vasser.
So when it came time for Jourdain to decide what to do with his future, he didn't take leaving the Champ Car Series lightly.
"I knew it was going to be very, very hard," Jourdain said.
And so far, it has been.
Jourdain drove for PPC Racing in the Busch Series last year, but didn't complete a full season because of sponsorship issues. He's only scheduled to make a few Busch starts this year, and recently caught on with Roush to drive a partial schedule in the Craftsman Truck Series -- two rungs below Cup.
Even there, he hasn't been an instant success.
Up and down
Although Jourdain finished a respectable 13th at Texas Motor Speedway in his first truck race for Roush, he struggled at the Milwaukee Mile last weekend -- a track where he won in Champ Car in 2003. Jourdain's previous experience at the track didn't do him much good -- he failed to qualify for Friday's race.
Smith, who hired Jourdain at the urging of Ford Racing executives, said the team understands he is inexperienced at NASCAR. But their patience will go only so far; Smith needs Jourdain to show enough promise to attract the approximately $2 million in sponsorship money the team needs to give Jourdain a full season in trucks next year.
"We're very enthusiastic about having him here," Smith said. "We really hope it can work over the long haul. But I still have to have a sponsor to do it."
Jourdain acknowledges he's still learning. He said NASCAR cars and trucks are so different from open-wheel cars -- they're much heavier, not as aerodynamic and have skinnier tires -- that at Milwaukee his previous experience actually hurt him.
"It's not only like you have to learn. I have to forget about everything I knew before, too," he said.
So why bother? Jourdain had two career victories in the Champ Car Series and said he probably could have driven eight more seasons there and done well financially. At 29, he's not over the hill but is older than most drivers being groomed for Cup series rides.
But Jourdain wanted to compete against the best -- and today, that means moving to NASCAR.
"I believe this step can give me more in every sense," he said. "I think right now, it's better to win the Daytona 500 than the Indy 500."
Long way from winning
Right now, Jourdain is a long way from winning Daytona, or even driving in it.
First, he needs to learn how to drive in NASCAR, something that only comes with experience.
"The first time I drove one of these cars, I was like, 'What's a track bar?' I had no idea what a track bar was," Jourdain said, referring to a suspension adjustment mechanism found on NASCAR cars.
Smith isn't surprised at Jourdain's struggles, given what he has seen from other open-wheel drivers trying to drive in NASCAR.
"It's been a constant source of amusement to me in the last 17 years," Smith said.
Smith said Indy-style cars are such technological and aerodynamic marvels that drivers get "spoiled." Still, Smith is confident Jourdain can learn to drive in NASCAR. And as a native of Mexico, Jourdain's diverse background would be a plus with potential sponsors.
But Smith says his future ultimately depends on results.
"If he can just show a little bit of the blue-sky promise, I think we'll be fine," Smith said.
Jourdain said he's willing to put in the work.
"Is Nextel Cup the main goal? Yes," he said. "Why? Because it's the biggest thing, I believe. And I'm not [as] young as a lot of kids coming in, but I'm a good age that I can have some good years here."
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