Dale Earnhardt Jr. wants to drive in the Indy 500

Hendrick Motor sports driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. was in Indianapolis on Thursday to promote the upcoming All-State 400 at the Brickyard and was supposed to receive a two-seater from fellow National Guard sponsored driver Dan Wheldon of the IndyCar Series. Rain washed out the two seater ride that Earnhardt Jr was supposed to get from Wheldon, but he did get a 10 minute driving lesson from Wheldon. Quoted as saying “he picked his brains as hard as I could”, Earnhardt Jr. also had some other interesting things to say in refence to the Indy 500.

Earnhardt Jr. dropped the bombshell that could send ripple effects throughout NASCAR and possibly have IndyCar fans playing the “what if” game. Earnhardt Jr. was quoted as saying “definitely interests me” in reference to driving in the Indy 500. He also went on to say that many NASCAR drivers would try Indy if the schedules could be resolved.

Can you imagine the post popular driver in NASCAR, driving in the most famous race in the world? Earnhardt Jr. single handily could bring the Indy 500 back to its heydays of attendance every time he set foot in IMS. Earnhardt Jr. comments also raise interesting thoughts to how would the other NASCAR drivers hold up in IndyCars.

Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart, all would be names that would grab fans, national media attention, jumpstart the series, and answer the ultimate question of who are the top drivers in North America.