How Low Can Villeneuve Go!

That's not the quote. Maybe you should read the article again. "...the truck offers the closest reference point to the Car of Tomorrow." If you're not familiar with the Nextel Cup series, they have a new car design that's being used in some of the races this year. They call it the "Car of Tomorrow" and it takes some getting used to. JV said in his quote the Craftsman Trucks are closest to those cars so he will build up practice time before the 2008 season kicks off. That's when the Nextel Cup (Sprint Cup then) will switch to the CoT full time. It's no different than JPM doing races in the ARCA cars before going to Busch and Nextel.

 

I have heard some drivers say that "Car of Tomorrow" itself is a step backward. I just read this on the sports NBC page in disbelief as well...it sure looks like a step down from World Champion.

Is Scott Speed next?

 

I don't know, after driving that BAR Honda this truck maybe a step up!

 

You guys should stop mocking Villeneuve. He's an incredible driver with lots of talent. You are solely misinformed if you think he will lower himself to driving Nascar trucks.

From very reliable sources, I know he will be participating in a very competitive series, more akin to his splendid driving skills, the Lawn Mowing Burgas Championship. All 4 races take place in eastern Bulgaria, with an extra international race in Romania. They use state of the art cow crap powered Lawn mowers, and the very best drivers even get tractors. It is believed Villeneuve will get a push-mower for his rookie year.

There is incommensurable sponsor interest, and Demolulas cat food has already stepped up with an amazing contract, where Villeneuve would get 5% off for every cat food purchase he makes in the next 3 months.

Eat your heart out, Schumi, Villeneuve is eating cat food, singing rock'n'roll and racing lawnmowers. That's the life of a great champion!

 

Ok, I'll admit he's gotten a little slower, but anyone who can tell the Office de la Langue Francaise they need to find real jobs AND took on Mikey to get bounced out of the GPDA for the Monaco debacle is ok in my book. I hope it all works out for him and he gets a shot in Nextel/Sprint Cup racing.

 

It still amazes me that the Car of Tomorrow has a carburetor and a solid rear axel.

 

lol, you got me there, until the second paragraph I thought you were serious.

 

I like that. NASCAR is keeping its roots. I'm beginning to like NASCAR more and more.

 

I'll tell you right now, with Montoya in it already, if both Villeneuve and Speed join in? Call me a "consistent Nascar viewer" not a fan lol, just poping in to see how my favorite drivers are doing.

 

I NEED some of the drugs you are on.

To me, nascar is a joke now, to be fined for using 'unapproved bolts', nuts, screws rivets, have a 4-coil front sprint in instead of a 4 and a half-turn coil and be fined for it, whatever, is just beyond belief, to me anyway.

Now, you wanna go back to real nascar racing ?

Let's go back to 1970-76 or so.

Bring those cars and motors back, put in the safety features of today - or most of them - and let's have a race.

Today, the cars are identical except for the headlight stickers, to me, that's called I-R-O-C.

 

It's a done deal, looks like JV will be in NASCAR next year......

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/61794

NASCAR team owner Bill Davis has confirmed that Jacques Villeneuve will be one of his squad's Nextel Cup drivers next year and could already enter a Nextel Cup race this season.

Villeneuve announced yesterday that he will be testing a Toyota Tundra NASCAR truck at Chicagoland on Monday for Bill Davis Racing.

And Davis himself revealed today in an exclusive interview with autosport.com that the Canadian will be making his NASCAR debut on 22 September at Las Vegas in the Craftsman Truck Series.

Davis said he has signed Villeneuve on a long-term contract after making contact with him a couple of weeks ago.

And he now confirms that former Formula One world champion will also take part in seven Craftsman races this season, to get him ready for a possible Nextel Cup debut at the end of the year.

"He'll be testing the next two, three weeks and his first truck race will be at Las Vegas in about three or four weeks," Davis told autosport.com.

"Then he runs seven truck races, and one ARCA race at Talladega for sure. He'll do quite a bit of Car of Tomorrow testing and we might possibly run a Cup race, but that just remains to be seen."

The BDR boss said he expects Villeneuve to quickly get up to speed and sees no reason why he can't match the results Juan Pablo Montoya has been able to get in his maiden season in the Nextel Cup.

"Hopefully I don't see any reason why we can't deliver the same type of equipment to JV that Montoya has had available to him," Davis added.

"Certainly I think JV's credentials speak for themselves and if we could put together the equipment that it takes, I think he can have success as enthusiastic as he is about coming down here.

"He's had the advantage of watching Montoya for a year and I think he will be accepted and embraced by NASCAR and the fans, I really do."

Davis said that NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion and current leader Mike Skinner will coach Villeneuve in his test at Chicagoland on Monday, anticipating that the former Formula One World Champion will face a steep learning curve.

"Well, obviously it'll be a huge learning curve for him," he said. "These cars and trucks certainly don't compare to what he's competed in as far as sophistication and the telemetry and all that's available.

"But a great race car driver is a great race car driver and we've seen that with drivers in this garage that are able to go back and forth through different echelons of racing and be successful. A race car is a race car."

BDR is currently the leading Toyota team in the Nextel Cup but could face a tougher challenge to remain as the best squad for the Japanese manufacturer if Joe Gibbs Racing finally end up running Toyotas next year.

He said however that it would be plus and would welcome them in the Toyota camp next year.

"I welcome it," he said. "If they do announce that's what's going to happen, having another good strong team can only help us.

"Another established team with veteran drivers and veteran crew chiefs, a veteran engine program. It will be certainly be to our advantage if they do choose to do that, we welcome it."

 

Montoya didn't join an underfunded team who's best car is chronically teetering on the borderline of the pre-qualified top 35. Maybe a brief chat with Mayfield and Allmendinger would have been prudent before all the announcements. I wish him the very best however I have more than a sneaking suspicion he'll qualify for only a handful of races.

 

You need to look at BDR's performance as a Toyota team again. Dave Blaney has consistently been fairly far up there, got a pole (NHIS?) and finished the last race in 6th, IIRC. These guys make Red Bull and MWR look like amateurs (which they may be <grin>).

If Joe Gibbs go to Toyota, expect BDR to benefit, too. Blaney and BDR are better this year than CGRwFSR were last year by a long shot...

JV did win the Indy 500, the CART Championship (when it meant something) and was WDC for a reason... Montoya's only two for three...

 

All valid points Peter, and you'd have to think the ugh.. 'Camrys' ... blech ...would have to get better next year. What can I say, I hope I'm wrong.....

 

i stand with you on this one!

 

I had this dream yesterday evening where I seem to be fixated on watching half a box of Froot Loops endlessly swirl around in an unflushing toilet. It was horrible. I got lucky though, I woke up just in time to catch the start of Bristol.....