Klye Busch: the next American to test in F1

Formula One has lacked an American hero for a long time now, and with Scott Speed gone from the paddock, the land of the free and home of the brave lacks a standard-bearer to represent one the biggest motorsport cultures in the world at the pinnacle of racing. Several drivers, however, are lining up for the opportunity.

The first step for any aspiring F1 driver is always a test. The bigger the team, the better. We recently brought you news of Danica Patrick's potential test with Honda, while racing scion Marco Andretti was likewise linked with a Honda test. Next up to bat is Kyle Busch, who is finagling his way into a Toyota F1 car at the end of the year for a trial run in Japan. Busch, who currently leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup in points driving a "Toyota Camry", says he'll see how he manages on a road course and with the tremendous strain on the neck endured by trained F1 drivers before he speculates on a potential switch in racing series. However, Juan Pablo Montoya, who made the switch in the opposite direction, remains skeptical. Montoya did a similar swap at Indy with Jeff Gordon when Juan Pablo was at Williams-BMW.

Meanwhile Graham Rahal dismissed the prospect of moving to F1 like his father Bobby had, reasoning that "If you're not with McLaren or Ferrari, you're not going to win a race." The young Rahal elaborated that with open-wheel racing reunited in America, he'd be happy to stay put.

[Sources: Autosport and F1-Live, Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty]