After Daniel Ricciardo’s NASCAR Confession, McLaren CEO Leaks Oscar Piastri’s Daytona 500 Dream

Zak Brown is making all the noise in NASCAR these days. Days after expressing his desire to potentially run a car at Daytona with Rick Hendrick, the McLaren CEO has revealed some intriguing details. It appears Daniel Ricciardo isn’t the only Aussie speed demon inching to get behind a Cup V8 at the ‘World Center of Racing’. If everything falls into place, the British F1 team could soon see an all-American entry driven by their rising star from Down Under, Oscar Piastri.

Though most of it is speculation for now, Piastri seems eager to follow in the footsteps of Kimi Raikkonen and Kamui Kobayashi with a one-off switch to stock car racing. And Brown lifted the curtains himself to Kevin Harvick.

McLaren’s next big move across the Atlantic

In the wake of McLaren’s various motorsport crossovers, they’ve found a worthy ally in the most successful team in NASCAR, Hendrick Motorsports. As Zak Brown mentioned a few days ago on the Dale Jr Download, “I’d like to have a relationship with [Rick Hendrick’s] team forever because they’re awesome.” It’s not recent news that Arrow-McLaren is already planning its second Indy 500 Double Duty with Kyle Larson, regardless of the complications this past May. So clearly, their partnership is growing.

But surprisingly, the California-born, Brown, has recently been very vocal about McLaren making a splash at the crown jewel, Daytona 500. This has left many inside the racing community with questions, all circumstances considered. One big point of contention has been: who will be the driver to man this historic cross-discipline entry? Would it be

Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri? Could their American open-wheel stars at Arrow-McLaren make the switch? Thankfully, Brown provided those looking for answers with a hint on the September 19 episode of Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour podcast.

The former Cup champ asked the McLaren CEO ‘Which one of your guys would be the most likely to go run the Daytona 500 in that car?’ To which the man answered, “Oscar seems to be.” He admitted, “I mean they both love to drive everything. But Oscar’s kind of knocked on my door a little bit about his excitement around NASCAR. So I think if we were to do something with Kyle and one of our Formula One drivers. It’d probably most likely be Oscar.”

That would certainly prove the versatility of the 23-year-old F1 phenom. Let’s not mention the due credibility boost he so rightfully deserves. However, veteran Ricciardo’s earlier comments about a potential Daytona 500 appearance should make Oscar Piastri consider his advances carefully.

A cautionary tale for Oscar Piastri

Daniel Ricciardo’s affinity towards NASCAR is no secret. In 2021, after winning a bet with then-CEO Zak Brown, the 8x race-winner got to drive Dale Earnhardt’s iconic 1984 Chevy Monte Carlo at COTA. Three years later, Ricciardo and his current team, VCARB’s F1, are unsure of a contract extension in 2025. Most sources hint at Kiwi prodigy Liam Lawson to be his replacement. But in its background, Ricciardo has talked about running at the Daytona 500 once his F1 days were over.

“Would I like to compete? Yes and no,” Ricciardo had reflected to Adam Stern. However, what he said next serves as a stark reminder of the potential perils presented in NASCAR racing. In his words, “I also know that it’s not what I grew up doing, and I would probably get smoked so like, I don’t know if I need that, but I would love to experience it.”

That is quite the candid admission by someone who’s seen it all in the highest echelons of open-wheel racing since 2011. There is no doubt about Piastri’s caliber. But it wouldn’t do him any harm in heeding the warnings of a fellow Australian motorsport icon. Will any of it come to life with the help of everyone involved in the imminent future? Now, that depends on Zak Brown and the McLaren F1 team, and most importantly, Rick Hendrick.