Update: Villeneuve's NASCAR deal
We just can't seem to get enough of Jacques Villeneuve's impending switch to NASCAR. Maybe it's the converging of the two worlds of motorsports, the tragic failure of a one-time king, his heroic stature in this writer's home town, the legendary association of the name.... The latest news on JV's deal with Roush Racing comes from the Globe & Mail, one of Canada's largest national newspapers.
While at first we reported that Villeneuve was looking for sponsorship to start his own team with assistance from Roush, it now seems the sponsorship cash is to pay his way into a Roush racing seat.
The deal would start Jacques in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2007. (Yeah, that's right...from F1 cars to pick-up trucks.) Later in the season, he'd move on to the second-tier Busch Series, which will feature a race in the champ's hometown of Montreal next year on the F1 circuit that bears his father's name. If and when Jacques would graduate to the top-level Nextel Cup will likely be determined by how he does in Craftsman and Busch. Bonne chance, Jacques!
[Source: F1i.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
COWBOY BOB 10:25AM (12/11/2006)
Looks like everybody who can drive anything wants to get some of the NASCAR green. Those who came up from the bull rings and built there own cars with money made from their backs must be thump'in around in their boxes right now.
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porker 10:35AM (12/11/2006)
#1- Yep. That's why I'm not watching or supporting NASCAR anymore.
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900hp 10:38AM (12/11/2006)
I hope he doesn't get hurt driving those POS. What a waste of time money and talent.
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Mr_Oak 10:52AM (12/11/2006)
I like Jacques Villeneuve, but more because he's Gilles Villeneuve's boy than because of Jacques himself.
That said, I don't care if you're a NASA engineer of a lumberjack, if you are going to be the elite in that field, it going to take some training. Going from F1 to IRL or Champ Cars is a whole lot easier that going from F1 to NASCAR. There is a lot to be learned, ask JPM. I think JPM when motivated and in the right car, is one of the top three F1 drivers alive. Still, he has some learning to do. Yes, he does have what it takes to win in NASCAR, and has a better shot than he did in F1.
Jacques' problems are not his skills, it's his politics. Burned all of his bridges in F1, hopes he learned something form that. If not he'll spend his summers lazily drifting on his yacht in lake Ontario.
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John P. 10:47AM (12/11/2006)
I think everyone pretty much knows that F1 isn't so much a driver's series as it is a technology series. He who spends the most money and has the most influence with the ruling body wins. The cars are spectacular, but the racing is ho-hum, except for the start which is normally good for a few passes on the first turn then it's over. Not much strategy really, the best car wins.
Nascar is much more of a driver's friendly series and the skill of the crew, pitstops, and car setup for a particular track. Strategy plays a major part. Yes, they go round and round most of the year, but there's passing going on and lead changes throughout. Way more exciting for both the fans and the drivers. I'm sure driving an F1 circuit is almost as much fun as you can have with your clothes on, but I would think it more fun to beat another person than beat a track.
Both are great sports, but I think Nascar would be very appealing to a driver that believes he can win on his skill alone, which Nascar gives you and F1 for the most part does not at this point.
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JD 6:39AM (5/26/2007)
Not sure about the money thing..... I mostly agree, but I do want to point out that Toyota is the team with the largest budget. We know how often they win titles, right? :) It's still better than NASCAR, which has turned into a huge commercial train wreck. Come on! Carbs?!??!
Mr_Oak 11:21AM (12/11/2006)
----> #5 Should read: "That said, I don't care if you're a NASA engineer OR a lumberjack".....
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Jeff 12:42PM (12/11/2006)
#4- While the money observation is generally correct about F1, I need to point out that it is Toyota who has the largest budget in the sport. They don't really win anything and aren't very popular with anyone. And while I agree that F1 is not terribly interesting to watch, have you seen NASCAR at all? It really is horrible. There is not any real racing there. I'm sorry, but it really is the WWE of the racing world. All acting, no real punches thrown. And Speed is so ridiculous about their coverage of nascar that it makes me sick. Americans think that nascar is real racing, which it really, truly, honestly, is not. How about the WRC that speed channel dropped lately? That is real, fun stuff to watch. But they had no room in their schedule- "Hey, lets run old, boring nascar races from the 80s and call them 'nascar classics'- they'll love it!" Wrong. Damn, now this has turned into a speed channel rant. Oh well. Best of luck to Jacques, wherever the money leads him. Although it is a waste of talent for him to be racing a pickup truck.
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Jeff 12:52PM (12/11/2006)
Oh, and saying that a nascar pit crew is more skilled, as you implied, is so wrong its crazy. The pit crew makes such a huge difference in F1- just ask Mclaren. See what their pit crew does for them? And how much gas is wasted in one nascar race by all those teams sloshing fuel in the general direction of the car? It's so wasteful it's ridiculous. Real racing is not like that, never has been, and never will be.
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Clark 2:10PM (6/23/2007)
Hi Jeff, you're somewhat confused about motorsport, but please continue to support those neat looking cars which provide a race harder to swallow than your mothers pancakes. F1 is like classical music..... and i'll bet your a big vivaldi fan. Whatever floats your boat though, Nascar has interesting personalities and none of the pretentious, fancy-pants, cheese eating, high society baggage that F1 wreaks of. Did you know that Nascar racers actually pass eachother? They run inches apart at 180 for hours and maybe some of that "wasted fuel" you speak of will light a fire in your typically clouded mind and you will see the light. Stick to tennis bud, i think they use the same telecasters as F1. Good luck to ya. YEE-HAW!
Mr_Oak 1:02PM (12/11/2006)
3. I hope he doesn't get hurt driving those POS. What a waste of time money and talent.
It's funny, ye who lacks the basic skill to hustle a go-kart around an amusement park, bestowing your "expert opinion" on us.
Folks in NASCAR are not there just spending money, they're making money, tons of it.
F1, the true "world sport" is only wildly popular in countries outside of Europe that do not have the means or know-how to develop their own forms of racing.
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Mr_Oak 8:49AM (12/12/2006)
Let it be known, I am a long-time F1 fan, this is, if you consider the late 60s a long time ago. However, it is what it is. The world's most expensive and technologically advanced parade. It just pisses me off when some people (and you know who you are) show up with this attitude that the world ends at F1. There are other much more captivating forms of racing out there.
Just about any form of sports car racing.
(LeMans, Trans-Am, ELMS, ALMS)- All better than F1.
WRC - These cats are phenoms.
Paris/Dakar rally
Baja - Desert racing series.
Pikes Peak Hill climb - The race to the clouds
Aussie Supercars. (I'd love to see NASCAR take on some this form).
NASCAR
F1
IRL
Champ Cars
Open wheel racing is currently the least enjoyable form of racing.
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Pallinn 4:42PM (12/11/2006)
Why is it a waste of his talent to be driving pickup trucks? I can't imagine that racing a 2 ton truck with 70/30 weight distribution is easy in any sense of the word...
And stop the Nascar/F1 bashing already, each sport is pretty much equally ho-hum to watch. It's the drivers and the odd moment of spectacular awesomeness that makes it worth while.
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