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NASCAR America: NASCAR to Fernando Alonso, “come join us”

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With Fernando Alonso ending his Formula One racing career, where will he end up racing next?

A 17-year career in Formula 1 that started at the age of 19 will come to an end for Fernando Alonso when the final race of 2018 is run.

Immediately upon the announcement of his retirement, speculation began about what he might be doing next. Most of the conjecture surrounds IndyCar.

Alonso climbed behind the wheel of an Andretti Autosport Honda in the 2017 Indy 500 and led 27 laps before engine failure sent him behind the wall.

But NASCAR would like to see him transition to stockers instead of open wheel cars and they sent Alonso an invitation via twitter.

“I was surprised by that,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. “I don’t think he’s coming. I think he’s going to IndyCar.”

Recently retired, Earnhardt thinks Alonso should just enjoy any races he runs. He should cherry pick them and “just play.”

If a ride is found, however, the soon-to-be former F1 driver might run only the Daytona 500.

“Not a full season. … That to me is a realistic situation – his coming just to run the Daytona 500,” Earnhardt continued.

Kyle Petty is skeptical even that will happen.

“It is tough to come into this series – the NASCAR series – on a one-off race and be competitive against the guys we have,” Petty said. “You just can’t do it. … Why put yourself in that position?”

For more, watch the video above.

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