BUSCH: IRL: Carpentier exploring NASCAR possibilities

One week after Formula One driver Juan Pablo Montoya announced he was abandoning his F1 career for the NASCAR Cup Series, open-wheel driver Patrick Carpentier visited New Hampshire International Raceway, also hawking his wares for a ride in NASCAR.

"I think NASCAR has grown so much that even the F1 guys are looking at it," commented Carpentier.

Carpentier is a Canadian driver who hails from Quebec. Most recently he drove for Eddie Cheever's Red Bull Racing IRL team, but currently he is without of a full-time IRL ride.

While nothing is inked yet, Carpentier hinted that before the end of this weekend he may have a deal worked out to run the Busch Series next season. It wouldn't be much of a jump to think that Carpentier might be headed to one of Toyota's fledging Red Bull teams, who are planning on having one Busch ride next season.

"I like long races and I like ovals," commented Carpentier. "I am going to spend this year testing some ARCA and Grand National series cars. I think oval racing is just as difficult as road racing -- it's just different."

While he is unsure of some of the details, Carpentier hopes that he has something to announce within the next few days as to what his 2007 plans are in NASCAR racing.