Given that I spent the last four days commuting between the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta and NASCAR’s 500-miler at Talladega, my bias in terms of enthusiasm for different types of racing is self-evident. That same enthusiasm carries over to seeing drivers challenge themselves in different disciplines.

If one defines a golden age in motor racing as a period of an unmatched volume of great racing, which includes consideration for cars, technology, drivers and teams, then the question is a no brainer. But I think the definition must also include motor racing’s unique caveat. Only when drivers move from one discipline to another, leveraging their own interests as well as fan appreciation, can it be said that a golden age exists.

Andretti, Clark, Foyt, Gurney, Hill, Surtees, the Unsers — to name a few where no first names are required — tried different venues when opportunities were presented in the 1960’s, the last true golden age. They were regarded as great drivers in no small part because they won in different types of cars (or motorcycles in the case of Surtees) and series as well as one-off events such as Pikes Peak, Le Mans or the Indy 500.

In the current era, we have the volume of all the requisite parts (plus TV coverage) to declare a golden age except for one. The same gold that has driven the explosive growth in racing has also prevented drivers from moving back and forth among disciplines due to contractual obligations. Two of the greatest drivers of the current frame, Michael Schumacher and Jeff Gordon, have rarely been seen in a bona fide racing event since joining the series that have been the yardstick for their abilities as champions. (Both have done the Race of Champions and Gordon has competed at Daytona’s 24-hour.)

There is a major change afoot these days that also implies some dictation by gold. When drivers such as Juan Pablo Montoya, Jacques Villeneuve, Dario Franchitti and Sam Hornish Jr. all start showing up in NASCAR, one knows that some of the motivation is lucre as well as the challenge of new competition. But if you take the consideration a step or two further, all of them could have retired comfortably and safely instead of seeking the current challenge in stock cars.

Do these changes of contractual considerations — i.e. swapping one series for another — constitute a golden age? What about the fans who still think NASCAR is racing taxi cabs or those who would consider it a waste of time to even spit on an oval? Confining one’s self to a 36-race schedule in NASCAR, plus perhaps a few appearances in the understudy traveling series, can hardly be called interdisciplinary.

But can we still call it a golden age if we can judge, say, Montoya in the draft at Talladega against the best in the stock car business?

Personally, I’d rather see more of a push by drivers, team owners, sponsors and manufacturers to leverage everybody’s self-interest into more crossover participation. Alas, even with the best intentions by these parties the sanctioning bodies then become yet another impediment to sharing the gold. The IRL has made it next-to-impossible for any of the above mentioned four horsemen to attempt a double at the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600, even though teams could make it happen.

The biggest current crossover event, Daytona’s 24-hour, has taken on that dimension because drivers, teams and manufactuers involved in NASCAR want to curry favor with the France family, which owns the stock car series and the Grand American Road Racing Association.

So we just have to take what we can get and call it what you will. We’ve seen former champs Rosberg and Hakkinen in Touring Cars, so maybe one day we’ll see Schumacher do something in those cars or perhaps return to Le Mans.

As for Gordon, he can consider the influx into NASCAR by other world talents a golden opportunity to diversify in place. And besides, he has yet to catch Richard Petty or Dale Earnhardt in the all-time championship category. So he’s likely to continue to leave the multi-faceted career to Tony Stewart. (If there’s a ringleader in the current version of the golden age, it would be Stewart.)

All this brings to mind the story of two other blokes from the same series back in the 1960’s.

As legend has it, Jimmy Clark and Jackie Stewart were on vacation after the F1 world championship in the Bahamas in 1967 when they received a phone call from Ford asking if they wanted to drive in a NASCAR race? Only Clark took up the opportunity to drive a Holman-Moody Ford at Rockingham, where he started and finished mid-pack. He was killed the next year in a fatal crash aboard an F2 entry at Hockenheim. Three years removed from winning the Indy 500, he ran the F2 race presumably for the joy of racing as well as pocket change and a perhaps bit of useful experience.

Jonathan Ingram can be reached at jonathan@jingrambooks.com.