Former Formula One and CART champion Jacques Villeneuve will make his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut Saturday on a very familiar track.
The Canadian driver will be at the wheel of the No. 32 Braun Racing Toyota at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, named for his late father, another F1 star.
“Knowing the track as I do is obviously a big advantage, but I do worry about the Formula One habits that I have already formed,” said Villeneuve, who hoped to run full-time in Sprint Cup this season before a lack of sponsorship cut short his effort. “My biggest worry is my brake lines. I will have to constantly remind myself not to use the Formula One brake markers that I am accustomed to.”
Villeneuve, the 1995 Indianapolis 500 winner, last raced in Montreal in 2006 with the BMW Sauber F1 team. His best finish at the track on Notre Dame Island near downtown Montreal was sixth in 1996 while driving for Team Williams.
Villeneuve made seven NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts and ran two Cup races last season.
He tested the No. 32 Braun Camry last week on a road circuit in South Carolina.
“The test went really very well; almost better than I expected,” Villeneuve said. “Driving the Nationwide cars on the (road) course was a big surprise to me. It’s very different than the other cars I have driven. It was a great learning experience.
“The Braun Racing team was excellent to work with and, as the car became more familiar to me and we got into a rhythm as a team, it was a lot of fun. After the two days of testing, we got the car setup so that we should be very competitive this weekend.”
MORE ACTION: Jimmie Johnson, coming off his victory in last Sunday’s Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, has added a pair of races to his 2008 schedule.
In addition to his duties behind the wheel of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, Johnson will drive the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet fielded by Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s JR Motorsports in the Nationwide Series race at Watkins Glen on Aug. 9.
The two-time reigning Sprint Cup champion will also make his Truck Series debut in the No. 81 Kobalt Tools Silverado fielded by Randy Moss Motorsports at Bristol on Aug. 20.
In Nationwide, Johnson has made 88 starts, with his only victory coming in 2001 — his second and final full season in the former Busch Series — at Chicagoland.
“Watkins Glen and Bristol are two tracks where I really want a win,” Johnson said. “I enjoy racing (on the road course) at Watkins Glen and, for some reason (I) always seem to be a little better there than Sonoma. We’ve had some top-fives so, hopefully, this will put us in the win column.
“As for the trucks, I am really looking forward to that. I have never run a truck race, so it should be fun. Heck, my brother Jarit has run more than me. But it’s going to be a good time.”
CHARITY WORK: For the first time since 1997, the August race at Pocono Raceway has a title sponsor — and it’s one that can make a difference.
Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race will be called the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500.
“Pocono Raceway admires and respects the work of the Red Cross and wanted to help support its mission and the great work they do for families in Pennsylvania,” said track president Brandon Igdalsky.
As part of this partnership, Pocono Raceway will donate 10 percent of the ticket revenue generated by online ticket buyers who use the promo code REDCROSS to American Red Cross Chapters in the area. The first 1,500 ticket buyers using the promo code also receive a free prerace Pit/Paddock Pass, a souvenir program and commemorative die cast car.
In addition, the track has added a donation collection site on its Web site, will donate a portion of the proceeds from T-shirt sales and provide the American Red Cross Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter the opportunity to collect donations at the race.
The Red Cross is also receiving a percentage of the proceeds from a charity walk hosted by the NASCAR Foundation on Saturday.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
