Toyota's capture of AJ Allmendinger is the latest high-profile open wheel-to-NASCAR move. Juan Montoya is already signed up at Ganassi, Jacques Villeneuve is rumored to be on his way, and several lesser lights have been pounding the NASCAR door for years with little success.

The big question is why? The answer is very simple; outside of Formula One, NASCAR is the biggest series right now, and in America it's by far and away the biggest series.

Montoya had a lack of competitive options in Formula One, Villeneueve had a lack of options in F1 full stop, Allmendinger is in a Champ Car Series that, while probably no longer on life support, is still in the recovery period.

NASCAR provides a relatively open playing field, it always has full grids, its not like Champ Car scratching around to get 17 cars on the grid and having to field drivers of the caliber of Tonis Kasemets. Indeed, most weeks in NASCAR, a number of cars will fail to qualify for the race. Champ Cars could only wish for that amount of cars.

NASCAR has grown into a massive multi-billion dollar industry and it gets massive amounts of TV coverage, it stands to reason that the major corporations want in on that. They aren't interested in sponsoring a Champ Car or IRL team, unless you have Danica Patrick in the car and even she used the NASCAR card to leverage a bigger contract out of Michael Andretti.

Champ Car and IRL are ruining their chances at the moment by staying split -- yes the open wheel split is a big turf war but until both sides realize they are going to get nowhere on their own then neither is going to make any kind of dent on NASCAR's popularity. While they continue to bicker and quarrel, NASCAR is getting bigger and bigger, attracting better drivers and bigger sponsors. NASCAR's capture of Allmendinger, Champ Car’s golden boy and currently its only American, is a major coup and another kick in the teeth for open wheel.

NASCAR’s biggest coup, however, is Montoya. Not only does his signing prove that NASCAR can now stand toe to toe with F1, it provides the opening to tap into the huge Hispanic market that NASCAR wants a part of. He is also a driver of huge pedigree, a previous Indy 500 winner, a Monaco Grand Prix winner, a Champ Car title winner. He has won in just about everything he has raced in and his program at Ganassi seems to be preparing him to hit the ground running at the beginning of the 2007 Nextel Cup. He could be a good tip for next year's rookie of the year honors.

Montoya's performances in a stock car so far have looked promising, a podium on his debut was followed by him leading his second race before an accident took him behind pit wall for a number of laps for repairs. This weekend sees his Busch series debut and many onlookers will be waiting to see how he cuts it against some of the big-name drivers.

Villeneuve has been quoted as saying he wouldn't consider NASCAR a step down. However, he has yet to secure a ride for 2007, rumors suggest he will be starting off with a year in Busch to learn his trade but no announcement has yet been made. Although probably not as big a capture as Montoya, Villeneuve is still a former F1 world champion and will more than likely secure a seat for next season.

It's more than likely that Allmendinger, Montoya and Villeneuve will be given a hard time at the beginning of their stock car careers but if they can all transfer their talent across they should all adapt relatively quickly and be competitive very quickly.

In conclusion the future is rosy for NASCAR, aside from the "Car of Tomorrow" debate but that's a whole other topic for a whole other column. As for open-wheel in America? Its not dead, but its on death row.