Jacques Villeneuve will attempt to qualify for his first-ever NASCAR race-the Smith’s Las Vegas 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway-in the #27 Bill Davis Racing Toyota Tundra; the 36-year old Villeneuve, who began his decorated global racing career 22 years ago in 100cc kart racing, has never witnessed a live NASCAR race. Villeneuve joins Mario Andretti and Emerson Fittipaldi as the only drivers in motorsports history to win the World Driving Championship (F1), the Indianapolis 500 and the CART IndyCar World Series championships. Villeneuve will bring the #27 to his NASCAR competition, a number as iconic for his family and to global motorsports fans as the #3 is to the Earnhardt/NASCAR legacy in the United States; his father Gilles carried the number throughout much of his primary racing career (including his time at Ferrari) and Jacques raced with the #27 during his two CART series seasons with Forsythe-Green/Team Green. Should he qualify for the NCTS race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend, Villeneuve will become the second World Driving Champion to compete in an event in one of NASCAR’s top three series (NNCS, Busch Series, NCTS); on October 29, 1967, Jim Clark, the two-time (1963, 1965) F1 champion, finished 30th in the American 500 at North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina, retiring his #66 Holman-Moody Ford after 144 laps due to engine failure.(Bill Davis Racing PR)(9-20-2007)
