Lewis Hamilton to NASCAR?

Could Lewis Hamilton make a move to the United States to take part in NASCAR after Formula One? Four-time Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon, now a TV analyst, believes the Mercedes star could follow in Fernando Alonso's footsteps in trying a Stateside series.

The current world champion and Gordon have a close relationship. Hamilton attended Gordon's final NASCAR race in 2015, while the American was in attendance in Mexico last year as Hamilton sealed a fourth F1 title.

Alonso's sojourn into IndyCar turned heads last season, although Hamilton routinely suggested that a stint in that series was not for him, even angering some IndyCar drivers with comments he made after Alonso qualified fifth.

However, Hamilton appears to have a softer view on NASCAR, and took part in a promotional car swap with oval-racing legend Tony Stewart when he was a McLaren driver in 2011.

The Daytona 500 stands as one of NASCAR's flagship annual events and Gordon expressed a desire to see Hamilton compete one day.

“I think that would be amazing [if Hamilton ran in the Daytona 500]," Gordon told the NBC on NASCAR podcast. "Odds are very, very slim, I would say.

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"We all saw what happened when Fernando Alonso came to Indy or the [Daytona] 24, how great that is. In the past, we’ve seen IndyCar drivers come over to NASCAR. I think it’s a great storyline and it’s also an eye-opener for open-wheel drivers to get behind the wheel of a stock car because it’s a lot different.

"I chuckled [at the idea of Hamilton racing the Daytona 500] because trying to get a quality car and team together that's not a charter and give Lewis an opportunity to be competitive would be a challenge. That’s the first kind of check against him.

"And then I also think there's no testing now. Lewis could go and test, especially at Daytona, get in a draft and understand the dynamics of that. There's no doubt he's incredibly talented and could do the job with the right amount of preparation. But there's so little preparation these days for any races, especially Daytona.

"I briefly talked to him about it. He showed interest and excitement. I don't know if it was necessarily for Daytona. It's just that he'd like to drive a car and I'd like to see him drive a car. He did drive Tony's car at Watkins Glen, but it was wet. I'd like to see him do it on an oval. I think that would be cool."