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There was once a time in F1 history where NASCAR superstar Jeff Gordon was in consideration for a seat among the “best drivers in the world.” And this week, lead commentator for IndyCar on FOX and experienced Formula 1 journalist Will Buxton spoke with NASCAR legend Kevin Harvick on his podcast, Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, about Gordon’s potential forays into open-wheel racing, in both IndyCar and Formula 1.

“Jeff was going to come over to Team Cool Green in IndyCar and a run a season or two in IndyCar, and Dario [Franchitti, three-time Indy 500 winner] was going to go over to BAR [British American Racing] in Formula 1,” explained Buxton. “And the long-term plan was that the lineup for BAR in Formula 1 was going to be Jeff and Dario. And he was going to do a couple seasons in IndyCar to train himself up.

“Now that would have been box office, and that would have broken F1 in America 20, 30 years before it finally broke through with Drive to Survive. You get Jeff Gordon racing in Formula 1 alongside Dario Franchitti — these two great all-time champions out of American open-wheel and stock car racing. And they’re racing as teammates in Formula 1? Boom. Job done. It would have been huge.”

Gavin Ward, Competition Director, Arrow McLaren, Kyle Larson and Jeff Gordon, Vice Chairman of Hendrick Motorsports

Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images

This deal supposedly was going to take place around 1999, right after Gordon had won three of the last four Cup Series titles. BAR competed in F1 from 1999 through 2005, never winning a Grand Prix but collecting 15 podiums with drivers that included Jenson Button and Takuma Sato.

Gordon never had the opportunity to actually race in F1, but he did take part in a ride swap with Juan Pablo Montoya (who later left F1 for NASCAR), driving a Williams FW24 in 2003 at the Indianapolis Road Course, impressing the engineers with his pace.

Larson’s potential

On the show, they also touched on current NASCAR superstar Kyle Larson, who once called himself a “better all-around driver” than four-time F1 World Champion Max Verstappen due to the various different disciplines he competes in. Larson also ran strong as a rookie in the 2024 Indianapolis 500 before a late-race speeding penalty derailed his day. McLaren F1 team boss Zak Brown has even talked about wanting to get him in a car for an F1 test or a simple ride swap.

“I’d love to see the best that NASCAR have try and make the jump to Formula 1,” commented Buxton. “I’d love to see someone like a Kyle Larson not just attend the Indy 500, but go and attempt the Monaco Grand Prix or whatever. I’d love to see kids from IndyCar transition over to Formula 1 or from endurance racing or from Formula E — whatever it might be. I hate the fact that we have such a restrictive licensing system in place. It stops the possibility of transitioning.”

He added that there’s no excuse that an F3 title is worth more on the super license scale than being a NASCAR Cup Series champion or being top-three in the IndyCar standings. The system prevented American IndyCar star Colton Herta from a possible F1 switch due to not having enough points to qualify for a super license. 

For a man who has won three of the last four IndyCar championships, it should come as no surprise that Alex Palou is leading the standings as the series heads into another weekend of racing with the Sonsio Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

However, the way the driver of the #10 Chip Ganassi Racing car has performed since the start of the 2025 season last March in St. Pete is at another level, reaching historic standards.

Palou came from a rare eighth-place starting position to win at the Streets of St. Petersburg, followed by another victory when IndyCar visited The Thermal Club. The Grand Prix of Long Beach was his worst result of the year, as he took the checkered flag in second place behind race winner Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global.

Last weekend at Barber Motorsports Park, Palou put on a stunning performance, starting on the pole and leading 81 of 90 laps in a caution-free race en route to his 14th IndyCar Series victory.

Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing in the winner’s circle following the race at Barber Motorsports Park

Photo by: Penske Entertainment

But Palou isn’t taking anything for granted and is aware that his impressive winning streak could come to an end at any moment, even in this Saturday’s race, as he mentioned ahead of the Sonsio Grand Prix.

“I know it’s going to end. You know it’s a wave and you don’t know how long it will last. Is this going to be the end or is it going to be like 5 more races? You hope it will be 5 more, 15 more, but you know the chances of that happening are pretty slim,” he said.

Palou went even further, explaining that apart from the weekend in Alabama, he hasn’t really been that dominant this season.

“I think, at least in the 10 car and myself, we’ve been focused on just trying to be the best we can be every single weekend. I would say other than Barber, where we had a lot of speed to start with, we got the pole, we started up front, and we led a lot of the race, the other weekends we didn’t feel like we were as strong, right?”

“We’re starting here at the Indy road course with the mindset, first of all, to see what kind of speed we have in the car, and then see if we can continue the good results. Yeah, we know it’s going to end at some point.”

Yet, no one would be surprised to see Palou back on the podium at the Indy GP, given his current form and the fact that he won the event from pole position last year and from third in 2023.

Should he do so, the Spaniard would achieve a feat that hasn’t been seen in American open-wheel racing for nearly two decades since Sébastien Bourdais in Champ Car in 2006, and Dan Wheldon in IndyCar in 2005 — the last drivers to win four of the first five races.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — One year ago, Chris Buescher was beaten by Kyle Larson at Kansas Speedway by the blink of the eye.

Less than a blink of an eye.

The official margin of victory for the spring race at the track was 0.001 seconds, the closest in NASCAR Cup Series history, and nobody has forgotten it. Not the way that Larson came slinging around the outside of Turns 3 and 4, nor how they were nose-to-nose at the wire, nor how broadcasters thought that Buescher had held him off for the win.

“Certainly at that moment, thought we got it just by my eye,” Buescher recalled this week. “I was probably a little biased.”

It wasn’t until they had nearly finished their cool-down lap that Larson learned he had won.

And that Buescher learned he had not.

“At the end of the day, it was, you know — it was ‘that’ close, right?” Buescher said. “Like I said, played a lot of things in our head that week on what we would have done different, and maybe it would have ended in a different result. But ultimately, it doesn’t matter until we have a chance to replay it.”

They get that chance on Sunday when the Cup Series returns to Kansas Speedway.

Larson is off to another sensational start to the season, with wins at Homestead and Bristol, and three consecutive top-5 runs after his fourth-place finish last week at Texas. He’s the betting favorite to repeat at Kansas and start a busy three-week stretch that includes another shot at the “the Double” — the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day later this month.

Buescher hasn’t had nearly the same success. His best finish has been a fifth at Phoenix, and in the last three races, he has not finished better than 18th, which is where he put his Ford for RFK Racing last week at Texas.

But perhaps a return to the Heartland will turn around some fortunes. Forget for a moment that he was oh-so-close to winning at Kansas last year, and remember that he not only finished second in the spring but ran a strong 11th in the fall race.

He also had a strong run at Kansas in 2015, when he won the Xfinity Series championship.

Buescher recalled that season this week when he was thinking back to last year’s run at Kansas. Sure, his crew may have been celebrating in his pit stall, thinking he had beaten Larson to the line. But the fella behind the wheel refused to begin celebrating until everything became official — which, of course, turned out to be a good idea.

“I’m not one to celebrate too early, because I just have bad feelings all the time,” Buescher said. “I go back to our championship in Xfinity in 2015. We went into the race, we had to finish 13th, I believe was the number, no matter what (Chase) Elliott did, and we finish that race — no matter what, it was a lock. And I was being yelled at for racing, you know? For trying to pass for sixth or seventh. I was being yelled at by everybody.

“Anyway, we come across the line and we finished the top 10, I think. And you know, it was better than 13th, I know that. And I knew it at the time. So I knew we were done. And I still couldn’t bring myself to celebrate until somebody said something.”

Buescher knows he will always be part of Cup Series history after that photo-finish a year ago. It edged the 2003 spring race at Darlington, where Ricky Craven and Kurt Busch banged doors for the lead, as the closest in Cup Series history. The margin in that case was 0.002 seconds, or double the time between Larson and Buescher at Kansas.

The spring race at Talladega in 2011 also had a 0.002-second margin when Jimmie Johnson beat Clint Bowyer to the finish line.

“We’re chasing a thousandth of a second every week. … You’re chasing fractions all the time. Ultimately, it’s what we signed up to do,” Buescher said. “If it was 1,000th of a second for fifth and sixth, it wouldn’t have stung. But you know, for a win, it makes you relive it for a little bit. But again, it’s just, it’s our world, right? We are always chasing these minute details.”

INDYCAR

The 2025 INDY NXT by Firestone season continues this weekend with a doubleheader at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

The first race is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET Friday, followed by the second race at 1 p.m. ET Saturday. Both events will be broadcast live on FS1 and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

SEE: Event Details

Rookie phenom Dennis Hauger is undefeated so far in 2025, showcasing raw speed and composure. He led every lap in the March 2 season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg and May 4 at Barber Motorsports Park. The IMS road course is also the spot he made his maiden INDY NXT test.

Can Hauger continue his dominance this weekend?

Can Anyone Sweep Weekend?

Achieving a weekend sweep in the INDY NXT doubleheader at IMS is a rare feat.

The only driver to need the broom since the doubleheader format was introduced in 2014 is Colton Herta, who achieved the feat in 2018. Last year, Jacob Abel secured the pole position for both races, with Abel winning Race 1 and Louis Foster Race 2.

First-Time Winner?

The IMS road course has been a launching pad for breakthrough victories, with the first race of the INDY NXT by Firestone May doubleheader producing a first-time winner in three of the last six tries.

Andretti Global’s Robert Megennis started the trend in 2019, followed by Danial Frost of HMD Motorsports in 2022 and Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Matteo Nannini in 2023.

Given recent history, a first-time winner emerging in Friday’s 35-lap race is a very real possibility. The field of 20 drivers has multiple candidates who can make it happen, with odds favoring a new name stepping up.

Among the 20 drivers competing this weekend, only Hauger and Caio Collet have reached victory lane in an INDY NXT by Firestone race.

Can Hauger, Andretti Global Keep Perfect Weekend Rolling?

Based on recent performance and momentum, Andretti Global has the potential to sweep the weekend – but it’s not a guarantee, as competition from others remains formidable.

Hauger may have stiff competition from rookie teammate Lochie Hughes, who trails his teammate by 32 points in the standings. The Australian is consistent and a proven podium finisher, coming home runner-up in St. Petersburg and third at Barber. Hughes also boasts past success at IMS across multiple junior series. He finished second, second and first, respectively, during his 2023 USF 2000 rookie season. Last year, he finished third, second, and third, respectively, during his USF Pro 2000 championship-winning season.

Veteran James Roe and sophomore driver Salvador de Alba add depth to the Andretti stable, with Roe finishing fourth in last year’s second race.

In addition, the team has swept the podium before, in 2022, and consistently places multiple drivers in the top three on the IMS road course.

Andretti Global also has 11 wins in the last 13 INDY NXT by Firestone starts, dating back to Race 2 of last year’s Indianapolis race weekend. Foster dominated the second half of last season en route to winning the title for Andretti Global.

Rowe’s Turn?

Variability in track conditions, weather and race incidents can mix up the results across two days of racing, opening the door for someone new to secure victory.

Myles Rowe could be a serious contender to break up a potential Andretti Global sweep this weekend. With 10 career starts on the IMS road course across various development series, Rowe is aware of the nuances of the 14-turn layout better than most in the field.

Last year with HMD Motorsports, Rowe had the third-best average finish during this weekend, finishing fifth and seventh, respectively.

The switch to the No. 99 ABEL Motorsports with Force Indy entry this season seems to be paying off. Rowe topped the Chris Griffis Open Test here last October and is the only non-Andretti driver to score top-five finishes in both races this season – finishing fourth in both St. Petersburg and Barber. That shows pace and consistency and is a good sign he’s comfortable and fast.

With Hauger setting the early pace, Rowe knows a strong weekend could cement him as a top challenger. He may not yet have the outright race-winning speed of Hauger, but his blend of experience, form and adaptability makes him a podium and possibly victory threat in either race – or both.

Youth History Being Made

HMD Motorsports rookie drives Nikita Johnson and Evagoras Papasavvas represent a compelling new youth wave in INDY NXT by Firestone, and both could have major breakout moments this weekend.

At just 16, Johnson becomes the youngest-ever driver to compete in INDY NXT at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Johnson was runner-up in both USF2000 (2023) and USF Pro 2000 (2024) championships. He made his INDY NXT debut at his home race on the streets of St. Petersburg, finishing 11th.

Papasavvas, 17, is a legitimate threat. He had a strong debut last weekend, qualifying third and finishing second. Confidence will be sky-high heading into IMS, and he is a dark horse for a podium or even a win.

The teenager flashed excellent qualifying speed and racecraft, and HMD’s setup and support give him the tools to contend.

Track Specs: 2.439-mile, 14-turn natural road course

Qualifying Record: Ed Jones, 1:14.6743, 117.583 mph, May 13, 2016

Push To Pass Parameters: 150 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 15 seconds per activation.