Bravo! Dario, Sam, et al

By DAVID GREEN

First of all, let me reaffirm my position on U.S. open-wheel racing: I am encouraged by the latest push for a resolution of the split triggered by the formation of the Indy Racing League in 1995, and I wish Dario Franchitti and Sam Hornish Jr. had stuck around to help that form of racing heal its wounds.

Having said that, let me say this: Bravo! to Franchitti, Hornish, Jacques Villeneuve, Patrick Carpentier and Juan Pablo Montoya for having the courage to make the switch to NASCAR and give a new, radically different form of racing a try.

Montoya has already scored a Cup Series victory, but there is a distinct possibility that all of these guys will fall flat on their faces, in comparison to what they have done in open-wheel cars. That could be a pretty daunting thing. They are putting a lot on the line.

Not that anything short of domination in NASCAR should diminish their stature. The number of drivers who have truly conquered multiple forms of motor sport are exceptionally rare, and I'd love to be considered "not quite as good" as A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti.

Villeneuve, Montoya, Hornish and Franchitti are bona fide American racing stars, owing to their Indianapolis 500 victories. Carpentier never reached that pinnacle, but he was a winner in that form of racing.

What they are attempting fits in neatly with one of the reasons I admire Tony Stewart. Except for the big-race triumphs at Daytona and Indy, Stewart deserves to be ranked alone in third place, behind Foyt and Andretti, for his varied resume. He has won NASCAR and Indy Car championships titles, if not the series' flagship events.

Stewart, too, took a gamble when he switched from the open-wheel world to NASCAR. Say what you want about Smoke's attitude, his pudgy appearance (hey -- I resemble that remark!) and his hairstyle, but take nothing away from his ability to drive racecars -- all kinds of them.

Too bad we couldn't have had a trade, with Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Matt Kenseth going to race Indy cars.

Except for Stewart, that would have been one heck of a risk. So, let's give the open-wheeler "interlopers" some credit for not taking the attitude, "I gotta rep to protect."