Red Bull's Ricciardo eyes NASCAR post-F1 after Earnhardt invitation
Red Bull Racing driver Daniel Ricciardo has hinted he could pursue a career in NASCAR whenever he stops racing in Formula 1
The Australian, a three-time grand prix winner, is currently in his fourth full F1 season and has a deal to race for Red Bull next year, providing the team secures an engine supply.
He was recently invited to try one of NASCAR superstar Dale Earnhardt Jr's entries in the stock car category's second-tier Xfinity Series.
Earnhardt tweeted: "@danielricciardo has an open invite to drive a @JRMotorsports car on a road course at any time."
And Ricciardo tweeted back: "OK, I'm looking at the 2016 calendar ASAP!!!"
Two of the Xfinity Series' road course rounds - at Watkins Glen and Mid-Ohio - fall during the F1 summer break next year.
When asked if he would like to try NASCAR in the future, Ricciardo said: "Down the track it would be cool.
"I like America a lot so to live in America and race post-F1 it could be interesting.
"I'd have to practice. In a tin top I'd be pretty hopeless."
Ricciardo and Earnhardt established a rapport on social media last season after the Australian revealed his choice of #3 for his F1 car was partly motivated by his admiration for Dale Earnhardt Sr.
He joked that the NASCAR invitation was well-timed given the continued uncertainty over Red Bull's F1 future.
"I want to make sure we sort something here [F1] next year, but if for whatever reason I'm not, then it sounds like I might have an option!" said Ricciardo.
Suggested changes to F1 weekend format not "a step forward" - FIA
Haas F1 wanted Kevin Magnussen for 2016 had Grosjean declined offer
What Autosport is looking forward to in 2023
There’s a lot happening this season, so here are the highlights Autosport staffers and contributors are getting excited about…
Busch calls out "disrespect from everybody" in "disaster" NASCAR Clash
Kyle Busch has called out "disrespect from everybody" in Sunday's "disaster" NASCAR Cup Series pre-season Clash at Los Angeles' Memorial Coliseum.
Why the time was right for Ford's F1 return with Red Bull
Some 22 years after pulling the plug out of Jaguar and handing the keys to a certain Dietrich Mateschitz, the paths of Ford and Red Bull have crossed again. And their 2026 Formula 1 alliance makes sense for both parties.
Vandoorne joins Peugeot WEC team as reserve driver
Reigning Formula E champion Stoffel Vandoorne will serve as Peugeot’s official reserve driver in its first full season in the World Endurance Championship in 2023.
The pioneering F1 car that preceded Lotus’s terminal decline
In the hands of Ayrton Senna the actively suspended 99T would be the last F1 race-winning Lotus but, as STUART CODLING reveals, it was a complicated machine that caused more problems than it solved
How Tyrrell became a racing Rubik’s cube as it faded out of F1
Formula 1’s transformation into a global sport meant the gradual extinction for a small team determined to stay true to its low-budget roots. But Tyrrell would eventually be reborn as a world-beating outfit again, explains MAURICE HAMILTON, albeit in different colours…
Assessing Hamilton's remarkable decade as a Mercedes F1 driver
Many doubted Lewis Hamilton’s move from McLaren to Mercedes for the 2013 Formula 1 season. But the journey he’s been on since has taken the Briton to new heights - and to a further six world championship titles
Why new look Haas is a litmus test for Formula 1’s new era
OPINION: With teams outside the top three having struggled in Formula 1 in recent seasons, the rules changes introduced in 2022 should have more of an impact this season. How well Haas does, as the poster child for the kind of team that F1 wanted to be able to challenge at the front, is crucial
The Mercedes F1 pressure changes under 10 years of Toto Wolff
OPINION: Although the central building blocks for Mercedes’ recent, long-lasting Formula 1 success were installed before he joined the team, Toto Wolff has been instrumental in ensuring it maximised its finally-realised potential after years of underachievement. The 10-year anniversary of Wolff joining Mercedes marks the perfect time to assess his work
The all-French F1 partnership that Ocon and Gasly hope to emulate
Alpine’s signing of Pierre Gasly alongside Esteban Ocon revives memories of a famous all-French line-up, albeit in the red of Ferrari, for BEN EDWARDS. Can the former AlphaTauri man's arrival help the French team on its path back to winning ways in a tribute act to the Prancing Horse's title-winning 1983?
How do the best races of F1 2022 stack up to 2021?
OPINION: A system to score all the grands prix from the past two seasons produces some interesting results and sets a standard that 2023 should surely exceed
Who were the fastest drivers in F1 2022?
Who was the fastest driver in 2022? Everyone has an opinion, but what does the stopwatch say? Obviously, differing car performance has an effect on ultimate laptime – but it’s the relative speed of each car/driver package that’s fascinating and enlightening says ALEX KALINAUCKAS
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.