For these laps, Jacques Villeneuve didn’t have a pillow beneath his butt, as he did the first time he took a NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Ford Fusion for a spin back in May. And he was wearing conventional driving shoes Thursday, not the adidas he had on that afternoon.
Villeneuve wasn’t strapped into a familiar carbon-moulded Formula One seat, the type that’s painstakingly lab-crafted over weeks to prevent the body from moving even a millimetre. Now he was in a roomy bucket seat that had a few pads added here and there to at least help him see over the steering wheel.
Villeneuve, the 1997 Formula One world champion, makes his short-track oval debut Saturday in the Tide 250 on the historic track north of Montreal.
He will race 250 laps, or less, on a layout crowded by 21 other racers who are (a) in the hunt for the 13-race Canadian Tire Series 2009 championship, (b) hoping to score sponsor-impressing points with a strong finish, or (c) eager to spin or wreck the star attraction “just to prove something,” as Villeneuve puts it.
Villeneuve didn’t disagree Thursday when it was suggested to him that he’d race a shopping cart if it had a decent engine. With speed in his veins, Saturday’s Tide 250 is a chance to try something new, “to have a little bit of fun with a different kind of racing that’s 30 minutes from my house.”
Villeneuve enjoyed the experience, even with the pillow and sneakers, and a deal was struck with Jacombs Racing for Saturday’s race. He’ll team with 2007 series champion Andrew Ranger of Roxton Pond, Que., and Bouvrette, the versatile racer from St. Jerome, Que., who was offered this ride for having won last season’s St. Eustache track title.
He says there’s “no doubt” he’ll put together a ride for Montreal’s NAPA 200, and next week he’s off to Brazil to race in Sao Paulo.
Villeneuve might leave a gratuity larger than what he’ll earn here, Ranger having pocketed $8,000 for winning the schedule’s most recent race. Saturday, he said, “is going to be a blast.”
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