The New Formula: Jacques Villeneuve Ready To Test The NASCAR Waters

The new world order of NASCAR was again on display this week.

Former Formula One world champion Jacques Villenueve spent Monday and Tuesday at Chicagoland Speedway testing for Bill Davis Racing’s Craftsman Truck Series team in preparation for his series debut for the team at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sept. 22.

Bill Davis Racing officials announced Tuesday that Villeneuve will compete in the final seven events of the Craftsman Truck Series season and could possibly make his Nextel Cup Series debut this year. Seemingly all indications are the Villeneuve will likely be running full-time in the Nextel Cup Series next season for Bill Davis Racing.

And it sounds like that scenario would be just fine for the Canadian driver who won the Formula One title in 1997 and the Indianapolis 500 in 1995.

When Villeneuve decided he wanted to get back to oval racing in North America the Indy Racing League wasn’t even a thought in his mind.

“You know, after Formula One, when you want to carry on racing, you want it to be at a tough level,” Villeneuve said. “And in North America, the top level is NASCAR.”

Villeneuve would join Columbian Juan Pablo Montoya as the second former Formula One star joining the Nextel Cup ranks. There’s also rumors flying that American driver Scott Speed, who spent the 2006 season and half of the season in Formula One, is ready to take the NASCAR plunge.

“You know, I certainly think it shows that our sport is being respected on a worldwide scale,” reigning Nextel Cup champion Jimmie Johnson said. “I think that as Juan has come in and lived the experiences of Nextel Cup racing, it has shown how difficult our sport is. It’s unclear what Jacques will bring, and then if Scott Speed is able to come in and run as well, but it can’t hurt. It’s only good for our sport.

“We all know that NASCAR is built on – our sport is built on a different premise than F1 is. Our sport is focused on competition and entertainment, where their sport is focused on or F1 is focused on just technology. So it is going to take these drivers some time to get used to the cars and come in. But I think it helps grow our fan base, and also helps take NASCAR to the next level of respect in the racing world’s eyes.”

Villeneuve and Montoya competed together in Formula One and had their scrapes on the world circuits. Villeneuve isn’t surprised at all by the somewhat chilly welcome Montoya has endured in his first season in Nextel Cup driving for Chip Ganassi.

“Apparently no matter what you’re driving nobody likes the new boy,” Villeneuve said. “Any time anybody got into F1, we didn’t like it, and we made their life hard. So that’s a little bit natural. But [Montoya] was like that in Formula 1, extremely aggressive and got on people’s nerves. I guess he kept the same personality going into NASCAR, which once he settles in, it will be all right. He’s driving hard, he’s fast, and he’s making a name for himself. Now he’s earning respect, so that’s fine. But I’ve never been as aggressive as him, I would say. But at the same time, NASCAR is a different ball game. So if and when I get in there, I’ll figure it out.”

Shawn Courchesne