There were plenty of cross-overs between the NASCAR and Formula 1 worlds this past week, as the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix took centerstage.
Trackhouse Racing's Ross Chastain is a huge fan of all things motorsports. He has been watching F1 for nearly a decade and enjoys it.
That doesn't mean that in the United States, F1 is more popular, as he still believes NASCAR is still at the top.
Formula 1's ventures in the United States are a good thing and Chastain thinks if it can make a hit with NASCAR fans, it only helps both forms of racing.
Chastain spoke with Susan Wade from Autoweek about F1, and how he enjoys watching it.
"I love it. I think a rising tide raises all ships," Chastain said. "I've become a fan. I wasn't a fan 15 years ago, but I was 10 years ago, and I've just slowly kind of just watched from afar. I've never been to anything, been to any events or anything. I'm glad that we've got more events on this side of the pond and love that more people are watching."
But Chastain insists that F1 is no real threat to NASCAR in the U.S.
"We're at the top. This is the top of our sandbox. This is where we want to stay for a long time. Nobody's leaving NASCAR to go over there. A few guys are retiring over there coming this way, but nobody's leaving here. It's a good sport."
Chastain isn't wrong, as three former F1 World Champions, Jacques Villeneuve, Kimi Raikkonen and Jenson Button, have recently raced NASCAR Cup cars.
Which Cup driver would really go and try to race in an F1 race? There are so many more rules and regulations. Drivers like Chastain are way too aggressive to be behind the wheel of a F1 car and would likely be penalized multiple times in a race.
F1 might be growing in popularity, but it is still far behind NASCAR in America.
