Few moments in motorsport history feel like witnessing two universes collide, and that’s exactly what happened when NASCAR legend Tony Stewart and Lewis Hamilton swapped seats in 2011. With ‘Smoke’ driving Hamilton’s 2008 title-winning F1 car at Watkins Glen, while Hamilton dove headfirst into the NASCAR world, taking Stewart’s Chevrolet Sprint Cup Car out on the circuit.

It was the kind of crossover that instantly became a legend, a reminder that even the greatest drivers crave the thrill of stepping outside their comfort zones. Then came 2018, and the sport was hit with a stunning déjà vu. Celebrating its 7th anniversary, 26th November marks the day Jimmie Johnson’s curiosity and excitement landed him in an F1 car, with two-time F1 Champion Fernando Alonso stepping into the NASCAR scene. That day remains unforgettable to date, and here’s why!

The time Jimmie Johnson impressed Fernando Alonso

Less than a full day after what could mark his final appearance in Formula One, Fernando Alonso was already exploring life outside the F1 bubble. Apart from ripping laps in Johnson’s Cup car, it was Johnson’s progress that caught the Spaniard’s eye. “It was impressive,” Alonso said. “I think he was really gaining time every run he was doing, and sometimes you put new tires on these cars for the very first time, and you are not able to extract the grip…But he was able to guess this extra grip that the new tires is giving to you and extract that grip into lap time, so I was very impressed with that.”

Alonso laid down a benchmark of 1:40.204 in the McLaren during an early flying lap. By the time Johnson wrapped up his final run, armed with a new set of Pirelli tires, he’d slashed his own best to a 1:40.462. For a foreign driver with zero experience with open-wheel machinery, that pace is seriously impressive.

McLaren set up a unique car swap experience with NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson, giving Alonso the chance to muscle his No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 around the Bahrain International Circuit exactly 7 years ago.

Having finished 11th in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and closing at seven seasons in F1, Alonso suddenly found himself strapped into a 5.8 L V8 stock car, an old-school, fire-breathing machine pushing roughly 725 hp, as he thundered around the 5.4 km desert track.

Johnson didn’t miss out on his turn behind the wheel of McLaren’s MP4-28, the car raced by Jenson Button and Sergio Perez in 2013, now wearing McLaren’s modern papaya orange colors. Alonso’s American motorsport ambitions didn’t end with the car swap.

In 2019, he planned another shot at the Indianapolis 500 with McLaren, aiming to improve on his impressive 2017 debut run, a race he had led portions of before retiring with engine problems, having missed the Monaco Grand Prix to take part. But it was that day’s performance that neither driver could forget. But things looked different for Alonso.

Despite the less-than-ideal track conditions, Alonso still managed to chop around four seconds off the installation lap Johnson completed that morning, ending the day with the quickest time of 2:10.830 in the HMS No. 48 car. There was no clear indication of how committed Johnson was on the very first lap. Alonso’s ability to get up to speed in a car he had never driven before left a strong impression on everyone watching.

Johnson felt the circumstances didn’t quite allow Alonso to experience the NASCAR car at its best.

“Yeah, he didn’t get a fair shake of experiences today,” Johnson said. “Our cars are heavy and have a high roll centre, so when you can put them on a banked track, they have a chance to shine. Dover, Bristol, even some of the banked mile-and-a-halfs, it would really impress him.”

But it is swap events like these, Hamilton/Stewart in 2011 and Johnson/Alonso in 2018, among others, like Jeff Gordon and Juan Pablo Montoya in 2003, that matter. Puncturing the siloed view of motorsports, showing that elite drivers respect one another’s skills and help broaden fan interest across series.

For the drivers and teams, it’s low-risk PR that also provides genuine technical insight. As for fans, it’s a moment of cross-pollination that’s sparked debate and goodwill across different racing communities. It also helps expand the sport’s reach globally.

Those tangible and cultural payoffs explain why organizers and sponsors keep staging these one-off swaps. More importantly, Johnson hasn’t completely stepped away from racing either. Set to make his home race debut in San Diego, the seven-time Cup Series champ is gearing up for the event next year. And it can be said that all eyes will remain on Johnson that day. But speaking of viewership, F1 may have just done the unthinkable in America.

Is F1 gaining popularity in America?

NASCAR fans, the past few weeks have been nothing short of exhausting. Leaked internal messages and a string of controversy and cracked-open frustrations that have been similar for years. Many argue that these issues are not new; they’ve simply been dragged into the spotlight.

Complaints about leadership decisions, the Next-Gen car, rising costs, and how the sport is packed for viewers have circulated for a long time. Now that everything is out in the open, some fans believe this might finally be the moment for real change.

A recurring topic and fan controversy lately has been how NASCAR compares to Formula One. As one viewer put it, “Watching F1 in the morning and then NASCAR has put things in perspective.”

F1 excels with polished, visual graphics and crucially, uninterrupted racing with fewer commercial breaks. The numbers seem to support the growing sentiment. Last weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix drew an average of 1.5 million viewers on ESPN, a record for the event and a massive jump from last year’s 905,000, which is almost a 40% increase.

It’s a product that stays engaging from lights out to the checkout flag. NASCAR, on the other hand, often finds the rhythm disrupted by stage breaks, cautions, and frequent commercial interruptions, breaking the momentum and dulling the excitement. F1 is averaging roughly 1,300,000 US viewers across ESPN, ABC, and ESPN2, tracking ahead of previous seasons; the shift and audience interest are becoming hard to ignore