hearing that there may be an announcement soon regarding Jacques Villeneuve joining the Craftsman Truck Series with Bill Davis Racingstay tuned. No word yet on any sponsors or the team number.(catchfence.com)(8-23-2007)
UPDATE: Following an invitation from Toyota NASCAR team Bill Davis Racing, former F1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve will make his NASCAR debut behind the wheel of a Toyota Tundra truck on Monday, August 27 at Chicagoland Speedway in Illinois. Having won both the IndyCar series and the legendary Indy 500 event, Villeneuve is no stranger to oval racing, although he last did so in 1995. For a driver with an almost unequalled resum, the 36-year-old father of one is fully accepting of his ‘rookie’ status, and is focused on learning as much as he can, as quickly as he can. Speaking from Bill Davis Racing’s High Point, N.C. HQ, Jacques Villeneuve commented, “We have spent the last few months considering a number of NASCAR options and were in agreement that the truck offers the closest reference point to the Car of Tomorrow. Bill Davis Racing was aware of my interest in NASCAR and approached my management team with a view to allowing me to test within its truck program. I’m glad we were able to work that out, and having spent the day with the team for my seat fitting, I am really looking forward to working with Bill and his staff.” Villeneuve’s long-term manager, Craig Pollock, added to the picture, stating, “There’s been a lot of speculation about when Jacques would arrive in NASCAR. Bill Davis’ kind invitation coincided with our decision to start within Craftsman Truck, so the fit was both timely and natural.”(BDR PR)(8-23-2007)
UPDATE 2: Bill Davis Racing plans to field a full-time Sprint Cup entry for former Formula One world champion Jacques Villeneuve in 2008, team owner Bill Davis said Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway. Davis said the plan right now is to run Villeneuve in the #22 Craftsman Truck Series entry later this season, as well as test the Car of Tomorrow. BDR will also field a car for Villeneuve in the ARCA race at Talladega in October in preparation for the Daytona 500 in 2008, Davis said. Then? “And then we’ll go Cup racing next year,” Davis said. Davis said that Villeneuve’s jump to Cup doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be in the #36 Toyota and that a three-car team “is a possibility.” Veteran Nextel Cup crew chief Slugger Labbe will lead Villeneuve’s team, Davis said. Villeneuve will debut in NASCAR during a CTS test at Chicagoland Speedway on Monday. The hope right now is debut him in a CTS race next month in Las Vegas. “It is an experiment, if you will,” Davis said. “But he’s pretty confident he can do it, and we are, too. I think it’ll work out just fine.”(ESPN.com)(8-25-2007)
UPDATE 3: Villeneuve tests truck at Chicago, debut at Vegas, could run Cup race: Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 Formula One champion and 1995 Indianapolis 500 winner, will drive seven races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for Bill Davis Racing in anticipation of racing full time next season. Villeneuve tested in a Craftsman truck [the #27 Toyota], which uses a stock-car chassis with a pickup body, in Chicago on Monday. He is expected to make his debut on the third-tier NASCAR circuit at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Sept. 22. “We’re planning on running him in the last seven truck races, starting in Vegas,” said Michelle Marckwardt of Bill Davis Racing. “It’s possible he may run a Nextel Cup car at the end of the year.”(Detroit Free Press)(8-28-2007)
