Hornish To Race Busch in 2006...Maybe

This isn't exactly "news", but it's getting a lot of coverage.

Earlier this weekend, a wire story reported that Roger Penske was going to get Uncle Sam in a Busch Series race this year. Maybe even next month right here in Phoenix.

On a personal note, this falls under "adding insult to injury" since the IRL pulled out of Phoenix, and now I may be subjected to watching the reigning Indy 500 champion race A STOCK CAR on my local track. Ouch.

The story cited unidentified sources as saying The Captain has a plan to get Sam up and running in Cup races in 2008.

Anyhow, Penske is now refuting the story by saying Sam hasn't even tested a stock car yet and this is all premature. They are stating that there is a plan to "allow him to race stock cars" at some point - how vague is that?

The curious part of this why Hornish or Penske will not just say outright that they are or are not looking to move to Sam to NASCAR. Everyone knows drivers like Dan Wheldon and Marco Andretti would jump to Formula One in a heartbeat if given the chance, so if Sam really wants to drive the bumping behemoths - be it for money, fame, or simply more races - then go ahead and say so. If that is not the plan, then say that too.

This super-secret plan that may or may not involve the departure of three-time IndyCar champ is extremely tedious and totally unnecessary. Of course I'd love to see Uncle Sam continue to compete in the IRL, but it's his life and he can do whatever he wants.