Villeneuve Isn’t First Canadian Competitor; Just The Next
Formula One champion and Indianapolis 500 winner Jacques Villeneuve (No. 27 Bill Davis Racing Toyota) is set to make his NASCAR debut this week in Las Vegas.
But Canadian competitors are no strangers to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. In fact, Randy Churchill of Windsor, Ontario, competed in 1995’s seventh race at I-70 Speedway near Kansas City.
Churchill’s father, Jerry, joined his son at Bristol, making them the first father-son entry in a series race. Randy MacDonald of Oshawa, Ontario, is the Canadian leader in starts (94) and winnings ($953,783).
MacDonald and his sister, Teri, are the only brother and sister to compete in the same race. Their most recent of four concurrent starts came at Darlington Raceway in 2003.
World class road racer Ron Fellows, however, remains the highest profile Canadian in the series – at least until Villeneuve’s debut.
Fellows, a Toronto native, won twice at Watkins Glen International in 1997 and 1999. He was the Bud Pole starter at WGI in three consecutive seasons.
Two Canadians have competed in 2007: Pierre Bourque of Ottawa and Peter Shepherd of Brampton, Ontario.
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