NASCAR, V8 Supercars stars swap cars at COTA (VIDEO)

Kurt Busch, like the rest of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, was in Texas a couple weeks ago for the NRA 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. The 2004 series champion made a return engagement to the state for an entirely different reason.

As part of a media preview day ahead of the Austin 400, to be held May 17-19 and the first race for the Australian V8 Supercars in America to be held at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas, Busch and former V8 Supercar champion James Courtney swapped cars.

The V8s are the top racing series in Australia – essentially the Australian equivalent of NASCAR in terms of popularity and manufacturer interest. Fans have traditionally supported just one marque, and until this year the only options were Holden and Ford before two new entries from Mercedes-Benz and Nissan.

The only similarities between the Chevrolet SS NASCAR and the Holden Commodore V8 Supercar on display in Austin comes from their road-going versions – the same car is sold in both markets in respective left and right hand drive versions.

“Sitting on the right side, shifting a bunch of gears with my left arm, you’re not in your comfort zone and it’s hard to understand what task of the car is next until you start checking things off your list that you learn the racetrack as well,” said Busch of the V8. “So there were quite a few things going on. Information overload, to say the least.”

Courtney’s take on the NASCAR: “The car was bigger and heavier. It has so much power. It’s really quite an experience. It was also quite cool to see blow past the V8 car on the straight. It was really good. I’m forever grateful that the team gave me this opportunity.”