Jacques Villeneuve had qualified his #27 Camry in 6th place for Sunday's Nextel Cup race at Talladega but opted to start at the back of the field, a place where he'd learn a lot more since his car was prepared for a fast qualifying run and not in the race. During the race, Villeneuve went up as high as 4th place and managed to finish 21st, still on the lead lap.
Villeneuve also faced a lot of unusual situations for him where he gained a lot of experience. He dodged his first big NASCAR crash, lost the upper end of his shifting stick and at some point lost radio contact because the wired got unplugged. On the last restart, Villeneuve also lost the 3rd gear on his transmission.