Jacques Villeneuve should be the main attraction when he makes his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut at Saturday’s NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Villeneuve, the 1997 Formula One world champion, will be racing on the track named for his late father for the first time since his abrupt departure from F1 almost two years ago, when he was replaced by Robert Kubica on the BMW Sauber team.
The 37-year-old has tried to resurrect his racing career since then, with his focus on NASCAR. He will be driving the No. 32 Toyota Camry for Braun Racing in the second edition of the event on Ile Notre Dame.
“Since Christmas, when I first started putting together a serious program to try to race NASCAR, I thought about the possibility of racing here,” Villeneuve said last month when it was announced he had landed the one-race deal with Braun Racing. “Now that the opportunity has come, I’m very excited about it.
“It’s very important to me, personally, because I live here and I’ve raced here for many years on a track that has my father’s name. It’s also important, in terms of my goal to continue in racing, and for me that’s in NASCAR.”
Jacques began the year driving the No. 27 Toyota for Bill Davis Racing in Sprint Cup but quickly ran out of sponsor dollars. Saturday will be his first Nationwide start, although he has run seven Craftsman Truck races.
“I’m very grateful to have an opportunity to drive for Braun Racing at Montreal,” Villeneuve said this week. “The people of Montreal and Canada love their racing, and this town is going to go crazy. It’s super exciting for me to be here and race for the Canadian fans. I know we are well-prepared and have a fighting chance for success.”
Jacques will have to beat a bunch of road-racing veterans, including Marcos Ambrose, Boris Said, Scott Pruett and fellow Canadians Ron Fellows and Patrick Carpentier, but he knows the circuit well.
“Knowing the track as I do is obviously a big advantage,” Villeneuve said. “But I do worry about F1 habits that I have formed. My biggest worry is in braking. I will have to constantly remind myself not to use the F1 braking marks that I’m accustomed to.”
Mike Hillman Jr., his crew chief for this race, thinks Villeneuve will do just fine.
“They tested this car before we came up here and they ran very well compared to the other cars that were there,” Hillman said. “This is Jacques’ home town and he’s got a lot more road course experience than these guys do.
“We all try to win in our home towns and to bring a home town guy to Montreal is really neat.”
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