Villeneuve to attempt Cup debut next week at 'Dega

[x Baldwin Motion]

nascar online story

This should be interesting, the man has only one NASCAR race under his belt!! of all places, the home of "the big one"

[PeteLeathersac]

Ready or not, his ol' man is and will forever be my greatest hero...so I have no choice but root for him and wish him a safe ride!.

~ Pete

[NCGuy68]

He is a very skilled and talented driver. Despite the odds, something tells me he'll do OK. I'am hoping he has a safe and sucessful race.

[1970Bluel78]

Whay a dumb idea. At the peak of the Championship run they let a rookie with 1 truck race in to Dega...NASCAR has lost it.

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

[ QUOTE ]
Whay a dumb idea. At the peak of the Championship run they let a rookie with 1 truck race in to Dega...NASCAR has lost it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ditto!

I think we should send Robbi Gordon (and his poor attitude) back to open wheel. I like Montoya, but he's not making many friends with his driving style!

[Late BrakeU2]

[ QUOTE ]
Whay a dumb idea. At the peak of the Championship run they let a rookie with 1 truck race in to Dega...NASCAR has lost it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Nascar knows exactly what they are doing-just like this time last year with JPM during the chase.Seeding the field with international(and highly successful)drivers allows them to postion,promote,and cross market to a worldwide motorsports fan base.He might be a cup rookie,but you don't win IRL and F1 championships with reckless abandon.Very cerebral driver who will keep his nose clean.He's simply following a money trail that has become quite fashionable-would not be surprized at all to see 20% of the field non american born in a couple of years.

Don't be hatin!

[1970Bluel78]

Sorry lateBrakeU2, but people in Italy are not staying up to watch nasacr racing. American based Stock cars do not appeal to thye International motorsports fan base. F1 is there cup of tea. Even Rally but not Nascar.

[Jeff Murphy]

And now Franchitti is joining the fray. IRL is definitely dying...

[Late BrakeU2]

[ QUOTE ]
Sorry lateBrakeU2, but people in Italy are not staying up to watch nasacr racing. American based Stock cars do not appeal to the International motorsports fan base. F1 is there cup of tea. Even Rally but not Nascar.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't think NASCAR is looking to convert the tifosi(unless of course Herr Shuey decides to drive for Chip) but there's definitely a % of europeans that will watch if one of their drivers makes the jump- if nothing more than to see how competitve their countrymen perform against America's best.Montoya is a national hero in Columbia and the south american market has skyrocked since he joined the series.Villenueve will bring a very large Fan base from Canada,and the same will go for Dario and Scotland.IRL and CART have long since become home for all the international drives that couldn't get a seat in F1 and now the tin tops are the move becasue of the big $$ drivers are paid.(Allmendinger got nearly 10 mil)

I would much rather watch a WRC event(oops can't anymore thanks David Richards!)or F1 but you have to respect France's ability to market and grow his series.

[x Baldwin Motion]

NASCAR.COM Import Villeneuve hopes to silence critics at Talladega
By Raygan Swan, NASCAR.COM
October 5, 2007
08:09 PM EDT

type size: + -TALLADEGA, Ala. -- If Canadian driver Jacques Villeneuve's skin wasn't think after years of racing in Formula One, it is now.

The world-class, championship caliber driver spent Friday preparing to qualify for his first Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway under fire from several top Cup drivers who claimed he didn't belong on the track.

"I don't think that they're saying I'm not qualified. They are concerned for their Chase. In their shoes, I would say the same thing. You don't want any unknowns out there," said the 36-year-old Villeneuve after final practice Friday. "But at the same time I've always tried to race intelligently and I'm not here to try and be a hero."

"And really the best thing about his performance is that we really didn't notice him."
KERRY THARP, on Villeneuve at practiceWinner of CART and F-1 championships and the 1995 Indianapolis 500, Villeneuve said after Cup practice that he just wants to "get the mileage and get ready for Daytona."

Although Chase points leader Jeff Gordon said he shouldn't be cutting his teeth on the Talladega Superspeedway.

"I think it is risky. I just don't think that it makes a lot of sense, not for them to be doing it, but for NASCAR to approve them to be running this race," Gordon said. "I think that there are plenty of other tracks and races like the ARCA race and the Truck race that gets them enough experience to get ready for Daytona."

Gordon is one of several Cup drivers who have publicly voiced opposition to NASCAR's decision to approve Villeneuve, despite his racing credentials abroad and recently in the Craftsman Truck Series.

His first foray into superspeedway action came during a Car of Tomorrow test last month. He set the third-fastest time in one drafting session and was 11th in another, although he was last (out of 62) in his only single-car run. In his Craftsman Truck Series debut at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he finished 21st.

NASCAR doesn't see a problem.

Kerry Tharp, spokesman for NASCAR, said Villeneuve didn't raise any red flags during the practice sessions Friday.

"He ran [24th in final session] in the middle of the pack," Tharp said. "And really the best thing about his performance is that we really didn't notice him."

The driver said he isn't trying to make waves or ruin anyone's Chase dreams, he's merely eager to start a new chapter in his storied racing career.

"The goal is always to get to the top level, no matter what series you're racing in," said Villeneuve, son of Canadian legend Gilles Villeneuve. "The racing in NASCAR, though, is unbeatable. In Formula One, it's fun when you're running at the front. The minute you're not at the front anymore, it's boring. NASCAR is fun all of the time."

Penske Racing driver and Cup contender Kurt Busch said he understands; he was once in Villeneuve shoes, but there is a process to follow.

"I remember the procedure and it seemed he got those credentials and access very easily," he said. "I remember starting on a short track, then a mile-and-a half and then bring an ARCA car to Daytona. But he's right in the fire; sink or swim, that's what he'll have to do."

"There are two sides to every story," Clint Bowyer said. "I'd like to see him have to earn it a little bit but then again they have earned it in other forms of auto racing and certainly their name helps."

Villeneuve plans to run the Sprint Cup full time in 2008 in his family's famous No. 27 for Bill Davis Racing.

If he makes the race Sunday, Villeneuve will pilot a Toyota Camry wrapped in UNICEF blue making him the first F-1 world champion to move to NASCAR.




I can only believe that bringing in champs from other series will improve the competition.
The increased market dollars was probably the first concern of the France Family.