[Steve_Seattle]

"NASCAR promotes an All American image at a time when IRL and CART teams are increasingly coming from Brazil."

One of the purposes of the IRL was to showcase American drivers, but I think the economics of the sport have undermined that. The Brazilian and other foreign drivers often bring big sponsorship money with them, and many American drivers simply can't compete with that. And to make matters worse, the foreign drivers also happen to be pretty good. I think this hasn't happened (yet) in NASCAR because there is relatively little foreign interest in NASCAR; worldwide, people tend to prefer open wheel racing. The ultimate goal of the foreign drivers is F1, and the IRL and CART are seen as possible entryways into F1.

[Dashing Dasher]

Very true.

Look at F1... We've had a Malaysian Driver and now an Indian Driver - probably not the best drivers available - but they came with cold, hard $$$.

[rog4vmi]

In the end, however, the race fans/consumers will dictate a lot of this. If IRL continues to showcase international drivers, the fans will vote with their feet.