The Flying Frenchmen

Villeneuve might only run the first 5 races of the season

2008-01-10T18:03:00.001-05:00

Although he was scheduled to run for the 2008 Raybestos Rookie of the Year award, reports now say that Jacques Villeneuve might only run the first 5 races of the season. The same articles states those 5 races are locked-in but that they will reevaluate the situation afterward.

Villeneuve said last week that they have yet to sign a sponsorship deal so some rumors have started their run about Villeneuve paying from his pockets the first races in hopes to find the sponsors to run the whole thing.

Stay tuned!

Villeneuve shows speed on first day of testing at Daytona

2008-01-07T18:58:00.000-05:00

NASCAR drivers were testing for the first time this year at Daytona International Speedway and Jacques Villeneuve begun his rookie season with a strong performance. First, in the morning session, Villeneuve tested 2 cars which he placed 4th and 15th out of 42 entered with a best lap of 49.092 seconds averaging 183.329 mph.

In the afternoon, Villeneuve then placed 6th and 20th, shaving about 2 tenths of a second off his times.

Ranger to run in the Daytona 24 hours

2008-01-05T16:08:00.000-05:00

It was announced yesterday that Andrew Ranger would join the already long list of French Canadians to run in the Daytona 24 hours. Ranger was offered a ride from AIM Motorsport's Ian Willis to drive their car in the DP class, along with Mark Wilkins, Brian Friselle and Colin Braun.

Ranger previously ran for AIM Motorsport when he made his debut in the Fran-Am series before stepping up to the Formula Atlantic

Ranger 16th at Daytona

2007-12-17T12:06:00.000-05:00

According to an article in the Journal de Montréal, young Andrew Ranger ran the 16th fastest time out of 64 entries this saturday at Daytona International Speedway. These tests were run in preparation for the first race of the ARCA season to be run at the same location.

Also at the speedway was another French Canadian, Mario Gosselin, who completed the saturday afternoon session in 12th place

Shiplett named as Carpentier crew chief

2007-12-15T17:54:00.000-05:00

Gillet Evernham Motorsport announced this week that Mike Shiplett will act as crew chief for Patrick Carpentier's 2008 Sprint Cup campaign. Shiplett spent the 2007 season as crew chief for Kasey Kahne in the Busch series, where they obtained 2 victories together. Shiplett also spent the last 2 races of the 2007 campaign as crew chief on the #10 Valvoline Dodge in the Nextel Cup series.

Ranger testing at Daytona

2007-12-14T12:02:00.000-05:00

Andrew Ranger will make his first laps at Daytona International Speedway this week-end as he will drive the DGM Racing entry for the ARCA tests. Ranger will have on his side another French Canadian as Mario Gosselin will be on site to coach him.

If all goes well, Ranger might try to qualify for the ARCA / Remax 200 on the same track on February 9th 2008.

Tagliani looking for a ride

2007-12-10T12:12:00.000-05:00

Despite the hard season Alex Tagliani just lived in the Champcar World Series, he is now actively looking for a ride for next year.

In an interview given to Geneviève Trudeau Senécal, Tagliani stated he's in some serious talks for a seat which could be a major turnover in his career.

Alex said in the interview he is still confident in his talent after the 2007 campaign debut with Justin Wilson as a teammate (which later split when Rocketsports and RuSport unjoined their forces) and that he'd like to keep the same car number, crew and livery for a couple of years, implying that stability is the key to success in such a competitive series.

He also said sponsorship deals in Champcar are somewhat problematic now as the latest move to the Panoz chassis reduced dramatically the costs to run as season, so the teams are asking for a lot less money to become a major sponsor on a car (around 500 000$ instead of a few millions like in the past) but sponsors given such low figures think the series is loosing in value.

If nothing materializes for him in Champcar, Alex still has an ace up his sleeve as he has almost a done deal to run 5 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series races in 2008 (the 3 Champcar races plus Trois-Rivieres and Montreal)

Pelletier does not make it through lap one at Valencia

2007-11-26T17:37:00.000-05:00

Hopes were high for young Maxime Pelletier as he approached the BMW World Final at Valencia but the week-end was a big disappointment. After struggling through the first days, Pelletier's car was getting better and he expected to climb back through the field from his 8th row starting spot on a grid of 35 cars for the finale. Unfortunately, Pelletier's race did not go beyond turn one as we was hit by his follow driver from the American series Alexander Rossi.

Pelletier was quite angry at Rossi after the race : "Rossi repeated a scenario he played often this season in America, which means having a great start and trying to gain 10 positions in the first lap. He hits cars and was even penalized by the stewards. He did the same in Spain and I was the victim".

Pelletier is now looking forward to a break for the holiday season before looking at their opportunities for 2008, either in F3 or FBMW Euro.

New rides for Jean-François and Louis-Philippe Dumoulin

2007-11-21T12:50:00.000-05:00

There were some major changes for the Dumoulin clan this past week.

First, Jean-François will have a solid car to defend his Rolex GT win a the Daytona 24h next year as he was hired by Blackforest Motorsports to drive alongside Tom Nastasi and David Empringham at the wheel of a Mustang Cobra GT. Jean-François should also be behind the wheel for the remaining of the season, including the Montreal event and the car should be on display in Trois-Rivières for the Koni Challenge week-end.

With that move, a seat was available in Carlos de Quesada's Porsche and it will be filled by Louis-Philippe. He will try to help them defend their Rolex GT title for the 24h race.

Villeneuve shows some speed at Homestead

2007-11-17T09:15:00.000-05:00

It was and up and down day for Jacques Villeneuve at Homestead this Friday. The French Canadian was high on the charts for all practice sessions for the Craftsman Truck Series race and even put his truck in 3rd place on the starting grid. Villeneuve was also running pretty fast during the race before he lost control of his truck, hitting the wall while he was running in 4th place. The truck was badly damaged and he couldn't get back racing so the final results show him in 36th and last place.

This was Villeneuve's last race for the 2007 campaign before jumping to the Sprint Cup Series full time next year.

Carpentier makes the field at Homestead

2007-11-16T17:12:00.000-05:00

For the third time in as many attempts in the Nextel Cup Series, Patrick Carpentier was able to place his car within the top 43 in qualifying, ensuring himself a place on the starting grid this Friday at Homestead. The Nextel Cup series is running the old-style Cup cars for the last time in history , and ironically, this race is Carpentier first time behind the wheel of this car. He posted the 28th fastest time (31.017) for an average speed of 174.098 mph.

Once again, making the field was a difficult task as just 7 hundreths of a second slower than Carpentier, AJ Allmendinger posted a lap time of 31.089 and will miss the field for Sunday's race, despite running the 37th fastest time today.

Camirand and Dumoulin at Daytona this week

2007-11-14T17:35:00.000-05:00

Winter hasn't begun yet but fear not, the Grand Am Rolex Series is already in preparation for the 2008 campaign. Two days of testing (Nov. 14th and 15th) are organized this week at the Daytona International Speedway road course and both Marc-Antoine Camirand and Jean-François Dumoulin are on site to run the test.

Camirand will drive the Fabcar Porsche #9 for Spirit of Daytona, alongside with Guy Cosmo.

Dumoulin will be testing the GT3 Porsche #22 for Alegra Motorsports / Fiorano Racing, sharing the driving wheel with Carlos de Quesada and Scooter Gable. The team won the GT class in the 24 Hours of Daytona last year with the same driver lineup.

Carpentier pulling double-duty. Villeneuve to race truck only at Homestead

2007-11-14T12:20:00.000-05:00

I finally got my hands in this week-end entry list for the 3 NASCAR races at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Patrick Carpentier will drive this week's Busch and Nextel Cup races. He will again drive the #10 Dodge entry in the Nextel Cup race and will get behind the wheel of the #19 car the first time in the Busch Series.

Jacques Villeneuve on the other hand will only be driving his Toyota Tundra truck for the Craftsman Truck Series race. Earlier, Villeneuve said he would only be driving Car of Tomorrow Cup races and they will not be on site this week-end as NASCAR will run the old Cup car for the last time.

The Truck race will be on Speed TV Friday, November 16th at 7:30 PM EST
The Busch Series race will run Saturday, November 17th at 4 PM EST (televised on ESPN2)
The Nextel Cup qualifying session to determine the 43 starters out of 49 entries will be held Friday, Nov. 16th at 3:10 PM and live on ESPN2 while the green flag will drop Sunday, Nov. 18th at 3:45 PM, live on ABC

Maxime Pelletier at the BMW World Final

2007-11-14T12:07:00.000-05:00

More than two months after the last race of the Formula-BMW USA season, 17 year old Maxime Pelletier is getting on a plane this Friday to the BMW World Final held in Valencia, Spain on the week-end of November 25th.

Interviewed this week about his trip to Europe, Pelletier aknowldeged he was a bit disapointed by his second season in FBMW where he hoped to fight for the title (in the end, he finished 4th in the standings). But, considering he switched teams after the second race of the season, he's still happy with what he accomplished.

Pelletier puts great hopes in this World Final event. As the drivers from all 4 FBMW championships (USA, UK, ADAC and Asia) will be on site, so will lots of recruiting personel from European F3 teams. Pelletier hopes to sign a contract with such a team to get closer to his goal of driving in the Formula 1 championship. To put icing on the cake, the winner of next week confrontation will get the chance to test drive a Formula 1 car.

Tagliani finishes season in 10th place

2007-11-13T12:12:00.000-05:00

Alex Tagliani had a disappointing 2007 campaign at Rocketsports Racing in the Champcar World Series and the struggle continued in the last race at Mexico City.

Alex fought with the car all week-end long, earning on his way a 14th position on the starting grid. As if the handling problems on this car weren't enough, Alex's car stalled on the start relegating him to the back of the pack. Helped by a quick pit stop from his team and the stalling of two other cars, Tagliani moved back up to 14th on the restart. Alex climbed up to 11th position at some point but an over steering car forced him to wear his tires out too quickly and he crossed the finish line in 13th position, out of 14 running cars at the end (17 took the green flag).

Grabbing some points throughout the season, Tagliani was shown in 10th place of the Champcar World Series standings, a 3rd top 10 in as many years at Rocketsports Racing. It's the sixth time Alex finishes in the top 10 in Champcar in 8 seasons.

From his quotes after the race, Tagliani is already looking forward to next season but is looking at a contract with other teams : "It is definitely not the way that we wanted to end the season. For our last race together, it is definitively something that makes me sad, but we have been struggling with the #8 Rocketsports car all weekend. We have destroyed every set of tires that we put on the car during the race, because we never got the set up. [...] Overall, the team has been trying very hard all season, and I would like to thank them for all their hard work and dedication. Now we just have to look at the future. For me, I am already going to be looking for what I am going to be doing next year and Champ Car is definitely my choice."

Carpentier wins first duel with Villeneuve

2007-11-12T17:44:00.000-05:00

For the first time in their short NASCAR careers, Jacques Villeneuve and Patrick Carpentier went head to head in a Nextel Cup race. Carpentier came out as the clear winner this Sunday as he was the only one to cross the finish line, despite running 33rd place, 2 laps behind the leaders. Carpentier was pretty satisfied of what he learned. Before the race, Kenny Shrader told him he would have had a pretty good week-end if he completed 310 laps, which he exactly did. Patrick commented he still has a lot to learn, especially how to push the car without burning the tires.

Carpentier explained after the race : "It's so hard. You have to be so smooth that it's almost impossible. You have to go in hard and then get off the throttle. You abuse the car and then as soon as you do that for 10 laps you are done. The car just slides. Every time they put new tire on I was like yeah this is good. Oh I got it. I get the picture. Then 10 laps later I was back to battling the car."

For Jacques Villeneuve, the race was also a learning experience but in a whole other spectrum. Villeneuve was involved in a crash with Kasey Kahne which placed him down in 41st place in the standings. Jacques was still trying to figure out how the crash happened after the race : "We were all the way up there and there was someone on the inside and I didn't know there was someone on the outside and I just noticed them once I was already spun and touched them. I'm not sure what exactly happened and I'm very sorry."

Still, Villeneuve was pretty optimistic of the speed he had before the crash :"It was fun once we got the car running better. Earlier in the race it was a little challenging.[...] We got enough laps there. The car was very tight there and we fixed it with pit stops then it became fine and we were fighting our way back."

Both drivers should run next week-end at Miami-Homestead Speedway, Patrick Carpentier is listed by NASCAR in the Nextel Cup race but I could not find the entry list for the Busch and Trucks race to confirm where Jacques will run.

Villeneuve 19th in NCTS at Phoenix

2007-11-12T17:23:00.000-05:00

The first race of a double header week-end at Phoenix for Jacques Villeneuve was a promising one as he qualified in 14th place for the 150 miles event. Involved in a couple of incidents, Villeneuve managed to stay on the lead lap the whole race and crossed the finish line in 19th place out of 36 trucks.

Villeneuve and Carpentier both make the field at Phoenix

2007-11-09T19:14:00.000-05:00

Despite the huge number of cars entered in the event, both Patrick and Jacques Villeneuve qualified for Sunday's Nextel Cup Series race at Phoenix International Raceway. Patrick Carpentier put his Dodge entry in 24th place with a lap of 27.425 seconds (131.267 mph) while Jacques Villeneuve qualified his Toyota machine in 27th place in 27.478 seconds, maintaining an average speed of 131.014 miles per hour.

Getting in the event was not an easy task for drivers out of the 35 owners points. Michael Waltrip, the fastest driver to miss the field ran a lap in 27.558, barely a tenth of a second slower than Villeneuve. Waltrip would have started in 32nd place out of 43 cars if there were no guaranteed spots.

Champcar Atlantic adds Trois-Rivieres back to it's calendar

2007-11-08T12:20:00.000-05:00

When the Champcar Atlantic series unveiled their calendar on November 5th, it held a nice surprise for racing fans in Quebec: their return to the streets of Trois-Rivieres.

The re-intruduction to the calendar was surely helped by the presence of Kevin Lacroix in a front-running team and should be a treat for everyone as the Atlantic series has a great history on the legendary street circuit (although no Atlantic race were held since 2003)

The preliminary calendar states that the race still needs to be approved by the city council.

Komatsu with Carpentier in 2008?

2007-11-08T12:11:00.000-05:00

Sirius Speedway reported today that the construction equipment company Komatsu is expected to sponsor Patrick Carpentier's car in 2008.

Komatsu were sponsor on his car (long with Zellers and Guzzo) for the 2007 Busch Series race in Montreal.

There are no news as wether their role would be as primary or associate sponsor

Carpentier and Villeneuve for the first time head to head

2007-11-07T12:14:00.000-05:00

Phoenix International Raceway will host this week-end the first head to head confrontation between French Canadians Patrick Carpentier and Jacques Villeneuve on the Nextel Cup circuit. Both drivers appear on the entry list, which counts 49 cars. As both cars are out of the top 35 owners standings, this means they'll have to qualifying their cars within the top 8 cars out of the 14 in contention.

Villeneuve will be driving the #27 Toyota entry for Bill Davis Racing (sponsor to be announced) and Carpentier will drive the #10 Dodge for Gillett Evernham Motorsport painted in Valvoline and Stanley Tools colors.

Qualifications will be held Friday, November 9th at 5:40 pm ET and green flag for the race will fly at about 3:40 pm ET Sunday (Nov. 11)

Spengler linked once again to F1 rumours

2007-11-06T17:45:00.001-05:00

Bruno Spengler's name is back in the Formula 1 rumours mill this week as two usually well informed sites (grandprix.com and autoracing1.com) both linked the French Canadian to Fernando Alonso's empty seat at McLaren Mercedes.

Earlier this year, rumours sent him to the new ProDrive F1 team but as David Richard's project dimmed, hopes to see Spengler in an F1 soon followed the same path.

All stars seemed aligned as he been a Mercedes official driver for the past couple of years, finished runner-up twice in the very competitive DTM championship (beating on his way names like Mika Hakkinen, Jean Alesi and Heinz-Harald Frentzen). Spengler's manager, Didier Coton, is also the manager of F1 stars Mika Hakkinen and Olivier Panis.

Spengler also speaks fluent French, English and German and is much appreciated by the European motorsport fans.

Finally, Spengler would also meet Norbert Haug's criteria for Hamilton's teammate as quoted this Saturday : "He will have to be fast... and cheap"

Villeneuve 25th at Texas

2007-11-06T17:34:00.000-05:00

After his best finish in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series last week at Atlanta, Jacques Villeneuve had a bit rougher week-end at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS). After he qualified his truck in 16th place, Jacques only completed 141 of the 149 laps scheduled, showing in the charts in 25th place out of 36 trucks.

At the time of writing, no press releases could be found describing Villeneuve's day at TMS

Carpentier to test in Memphis Monday

2007-11-02T08:52:00.000-04:00

Still in preparation for his first oval race on the NASCAR circuit and his full season ride next year, Patrick Carpentier will test this Monday at Memphis Motorsports Park. If you ever pass close to there, press release mentions some grand stands will be open to the public for free.

Villeneuve and Carpentier testing in Atlanta

2007-10-30T17:43:00.000-04:00

For the first time in history, and hopefully not the last, two french Canadians ran together on a NASCAR track as Jacques Villeneuve and Patrick Carpentier both participated in the Car of Tomorrow tests at Atlanta this week.

Carpentier, running in the Gillett Evernham Motorsport #10, car posted his fastest lap at 182.832 mph on Tuesday morning, good enough for 36th place out of 54 cars for that session. Carpentier placed slightly better in the afternoon in 31st place but speeds were slower as his 180.675 lap proved

Villeneuve also ran his fastest lap on Tuesday morning, clocked at 182.543 mph (43rd out of 54 cars). Villeneuve, at the wheel of the Bill Davis #27 machine, placed better in the afternoon with a 20th place out of 46 cars as he ran a lap at 181.497 mph

Villeneuve 14th in Atlanta

2007-10-30T17:36:00.000-04:00

Jacques Villeneuve ran in his 4th Craftsman Truck Series race this saturday at Atlanta and scored his best finsh so far in a NASCAR race in 14th position. Villeneuve at some point was even up to 9th place but he struggled with and understeering car no adjustements could overcome. Villeneuve also had some difficulties running the high side of the track as he lost 4 places on both times he was running the outer lane.

In the end, Jacques was pretty happy to see the checkered flag as he missed both in Talladega and Martinsville. This time, all goals were completed as he even completed the race without loosing a lap.

Carpentier will run the last two races of the 2007 campaign

2007-10-27T16:02:00.000-04:00

Confirmed on Jayski this week, Patrick Carpentier will be behind the wheel of the Gillett Evernham Motorsport #10 Dodge for the last two races of the 2007 season (Phoenix and Homestead) and will also run the Homestead Busch Series race in preparation for their 2008 campaign.

Scott Riggs will be driving this week's Atlanta race as well as the following race at Texas Motorspeedway

Ranger didn't have time to shine

2007-10-26T12:21:00.000-04:00

The NASCAR Allstar Showdown at Irwindale was a pretty big step for Andrew Ranger as he had to learn a new car and a new track, both of which he had never driven before. After earning the 26th starting spot out of 40 cars, Andrew had 250 laps to move up to the front of the field. Sadly, Ranger never got a chance to prove that as he was involved in a crash that happened in front of him and his evening was put to an end on lap 31.

Villeneuve's day ends in the wall at Martinsville

2007-10-26T12:12:00.000-04:00

Jacques Villeneuve had a pretty good run in his short track debut at Martinsville Speedway. Despite starting in the back of the pack (27th out of 36 trucks), Villeneuve was moving up through the field and had gain 15 positions while being bumped from behind the whole race when, on a restart at lap 143, he was involved in a crash with Jason Leffler and Clint Bowyer. The two were in a heated fight before the caution and soon after the green flag dropped, Villeneuve was bumped by Leffler and, as he was gathering back control, he was bumped again by Bowyer which sent him spinning in the inside wall.

Despite the 31st place finish, everyone in the Villeneuve camp was happy about what they learned and they all expected to have a rough day. Other newcomers also had a hard day as IRL champion Dario Franchitti and Grand-Am rising star Colin Braun day also finished in a concrete barrier.

Villeneuve's next start in the Craftsman Truck Series will be this Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, with the green flag dropped at 12:30.

Villeneuve and Pollock bought Bill Davis Racing?

2007-10-19T19:46:00.000-04:00

According to reliable sources at Auto123, Jacques Villeneuve and Craig Pollock have purschased Bill Davis Racing. Apparently, the team would continue to run their current lineup of drivers plus a Nextel Cup car for Villeneuve.

Villeneuve and Pollock are not at their first attempt in team management as their were owners of BAR F1 team

Andrew Ranger in the All-Star Showdown

2007-10-18T17:54:00.000-04:00

Following the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series title won earlier this year, Andrew Ranger was invited to the Toyota All-Star Showdown held at Irwindale Speedway, California. The race is a 250 laps shootout between the best drivers from NASCAR local divisions, assembling the best drivers from the Busch East and West series plus the Mexico and Canadian series. As the race is ran with Grand National cars, Ranger had to find a car to drive, which was graciously offered by Dick Midgley from Midgley Motorsport, a Busch West racing team based in Canada.

As he's won the Canadian title, Ranger's starting spot in the main event is secured.

Purses for the showdown this year go as high as 400 000$ with 27 000$ up for grab to the race winner.

Qualifications for the race will be held this friday at at 8 pm and the race will be shown on Speed TV saturday night at 10 pm

Spengler unhappy with Audi's tactics at Hockenheim

2007-10-18T17:40:00.000-04:00

In an interview after the DTM finale at Hockenheim, Bruno Spengler told Autosport he was more than unhappy with the tactics Audi employed against him during the race: "It's a shame that they left a car out until it ran out of fuel. They played team to prevent me from getting to the front to win the championship" Spengler said. He estimated the time lost behind Rockenfeller at more than 6 seconds on the track.

Despite accusations from Audi in the previous race, Spengler says Mercedes always played fair : "We fought so hard, but the fairness was not the same on both sides in the end. We played for the sport, they played for the team, like they did the whole season"

"When Paul di Resta (Mercedes driver) was in front of Ekström (Audi driver) they called him in. He could have blocked but Mercedes didn't do that for the sake of the sport. Unfortunately the result is not what it should be, but you can't change it. It was a difficult year, but we drove fair the whole season."

Jacques Villeneuve moves on to his first short track race

2007-10-18T17:32:00.000-04:00

After riding the high banks of the longest track of the NASCAR circuit at Talladega Speedway two weeks ago, Jacques Villeneuve now takes on the challenge of the shortest one at Martinsville Speedway. Villeneuve's name is seen once again in the Craftsman Truck Series entry list in the #27 truck for Bill Davis Racing. Villeneuve will be at his 3rd CTS' race and his 4th start behind the wheel of a stock-car.

The race will be shown live on Speed TV this Saturday at 2:30 PM

Spengler 2nd again in DTM

2007-10-14T22:56:00.000-04:00

Finishing fourth in the last race of the 2007 DTM championship season wasn't enough for Bruno Spengler today at Hockenheim. Spengler ends up in the runner-up spot again, this time a mere 4 points behind Mattias Ekstrom.

Spengler will have to try again next year for the crown, unless he makes the jump to Formula 1. Spengler has been in Mercedes' driver development program since he made the move to Europe in 2003. Lately, there has been rumours linking him with the new ProDrive F1 team lead by David Richards.

Villeneuve tests at Caraway Speedway

2007-10-11T12:11:00.000-04:00

In preparation for the Craftsman Truck Series race in Martinsville (1/2 mile long, one of the shortest tracks on the NASCAR circuit), Jacques Villeneuve has been testing in Carolina's Caraway Speedway (0.455 mile race track). His team stated that, despite strong showings on the super speedways, Jacques had a lot to learn on the short tracks as it is a completely different kind of driving. Villeneuve is scheduled to run about 250 laps during his 2 days test.

Villeneuve back in the COT in Phoenix and Homestead?

2007-10-11T12:05:00.000-04:00

Rumours have been circulating this week that, following his strong finish at Talladega, Jacques Villeneuve might be back behind the wheel of a Nextel Cup car very soon. The word around is that Villeneuve would run the races in Phoenix and Homestead and that he has tests scheduled in Nashville and New Smyrna to get ready for his next appearance in the COT.

No official announcement has been made yet.

Carpentier signs with GEM

2007-10-11T08:12:00.000-04:00

Although his manager still says they're negotiating, multiple sources confirm Patrick Carpentier has a contract signed for 2008 where he would run the whole Sprint Cup (ex. Nextel Cup) season for Gillett Evernham Motorsport (GEM) in the #10, replacing Scott Riggs. The deal also includes about half the Busch races in the #9 car along.

If the #10 doesn't end this season in the top 35 owner's point, GEM might put a past champion behind the steering wheel for the first 5 races for the season, as to use the provisional starting positions it would benefit them.

Villeneuve learns a lot and finishes 21st

2007-10-09T12:45:00.000-04:00

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.

Villeneuve crashes at Talladega

2007-10-06T22:58:00.000-04:00

Jacques Villeneuve's second Craftsman Truck Series race was not much better than the first one. Early in the race this afternoon at Talladega, Villeneuve lost the lead draft and had a very hard time getting back to it. Afterward, on lap 60, the truck right in front of Villeneuve slowed down to get into the pits and, as Villeneuve checked out, he was bumped in the back and slid to the right, collecting both TJ Bell and Bryan Silas in the crash.

As soon as he was out of the truck, Villeneuve thought about the race he has to run Sunday : "Once you lose the pack, you're done. I hope there won't be a repeat tomorrow."

Villeneuve makes the field at Talladega

2007-10-06T22:49:00.000-04:00

Jacques Villeneuve made an excellent qualifying run this afternoon at Talladega for his first Nextel Cup race and put his Unicef Camry on the third row with a lap of 50.88 seconds for an average of 188.215 mph. The Toyotas were very fast as they grabbed 5 of the 6 first starting spots.

Carpentier in GEM #10 car - rumour strengthens

2007-10-05T12:05:00.000-04:00

Pierre Lecours reported in the Journal de Montréal this morning that a deal between Patrick Carpentier and Gillett/Evernham Motorsport (GEM) would be announced very soon. Carpentier would replace Scott Riggs at the wheel of the #10 car (as previously reported). George Gillett was heard on the radio saying Carpentier would be in one of his cars this season and for the whole 2008 campaign.

UNICEF colors for Villeneuve at Talladega

2007-10-04T12:05:00.000-04:00

UNICEF Canada announced today they would be sponsoring Jacques Villeneuve Toyota Camry Nextel Cup car and Toyota Tundra Craftsman truck for the week-end races at Talladega.

Villeneuve rides will be in a blue and white livery with the legendary #27 on the sides.

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck series will be held Saturday at 3pm. Qualifying for the Nextel Cup race will run Saturday at 11:15 and, if Villeneuve makes the field, he will drive the 500 mile race Sunday at 1pm.

NASCAR veterans unhappy about Villeneuve's decision

2007-10-03T12:11:00.000-04:00

Jacques Villeneuve was certainly not expected a warm welcome from the NASCAR stars and it's exactly what he received.

Jeff Gordon was quoted this week saying : "I don't agree with it, but I'm not going to lose sleep over it either.
"Jacques did a nice job at the (Talladega) test, but you can't base anything on a test. I mean, that's just crazy. . . I think you need to get some experience in something else before you go stick them in the Cup race at Talladega, especially when it's so crucial for the championship." Gordon refers to the fact that Villeneuve's Nextel Cup debut will be on the fastest track of the circuit, right in the middle of the Chase for the championship.

Kyle Busch had about the same reaction : "He's doing what? [...] Holy cow, that's not good."

After the controversy, NASCAR reaffirmed their decision to allow Villeneuve to run the race since he passed all the criterias they were looking for.

Villeneuve will enter Nextel Cup race at Talladega

2007-09-28T17:39:00.000-04:00

After successful tests at Talladega in Nextel and ARCA cars and a clean race in the Truck series at Las Vegas, Jacques Villeneuve was allowed by NASCAR yesterday to run races on super speedways. On the same day, it was announced Jacques would enter the Nextel race at Talladega on October 7. Villeneuve was already entered in the ARCA and Trucks race but it was also announced Villeneuve would not run the ARCA race because he would be too busy on that weekend.

Villeneuve will have to fight his way through qualifying for the race as the car entered is not in the top 35 in the owners standings. Villeneuve commented it would be a good place to try to qualifying as it was not so much about driving but keeping your foot down and hoping the engine and the car are fast.

That race at 'Dega will be the first time a COT race is held on a super speedway.

Villeneuve tests ARCA car at Talladega

2007-09-26T22:16:00.001-04:00

Jacques Villeneuve was back at Talladega Speedway yesterday for another series of tests, this time inside an ARCA car. Bill Davis Racing brought 2 cars to the test, one for Villeneuve (#02) and another for Michael Annett (#28). Both had a very good day scoring respectively 8th and 2nd fastest lap times out of 44 cars. Villeneuve was inside the car from early in the morning to late in the afternoon and impressed his crew chief as he was smiling all the way, despite the reputation he built himself in the F1 circus.

Villeneuve should be running the ARCA race at Talladega speedway on Friday, October 5th

Ranger wins the championship

2007-09-24T08:23:00.000-04:00

Andrew Ranger became this Sunday the first ever NASCAR Canadian Tire Series champion with a 6th place finish at Kawartha Speedway. Ranger's championship rival D.J. Kennington blew a motor on lap 98 which opened the door for Ranger to grab the championship. With that achievement, Ranger will be invited to the Toyota All-Star Showdown to be held at Irwindale Speedway on October 19-20. That race pits together the best drivers from NASCAR Development Series in a special showdown format.

Spengler 2nd at Barcelona

2007-09-24T08:13:00.000-04:00

After a gruesome race where cars bumped into each other for the whole race, Bruno Spengler grabbed the 2nd place on the podium behind Jamie Green who scored his first DTM victory in career at Barcelona this Sunday.

With the controversial decision by Audi to remove all of it's cars from the race because the Mercedes drivers were way to aggressive and resulted in unfair racing (about 4-5 Audi cars were bumped of the way by Mercedes drivers), Spengler is now only 2 points off the lead with one race left, scheduled for October 14 at Hockenheim.

Villeneuve 21st in NASCAR debut

2007-09-24T08:03:00.000-04:00

Despite a final result showing 21st out of 36 drivers in this saturday Craftsman Truck Series race in Las Vegas Speedway, Jacques Villeneuve had a pretty good day. After scoring near the top 10 in the practice sessions, Villeneuve qualified his truck in 7th position and seemed quite relaxed before the race. On the drop of the green flag, Villeneuve dropped several positions, a drop which was repeated every restart as Villeneuve seemed to struggle with a very loose truck on cold tires. He kept moving up every time and was running about 15th when the truck of Brian Scott in front of him got loose and had to slow down to gather it back while Villeneuve bumped him trying to avoid the contact. Villeneuve had to pit for repairs and never was competitive again for the race.

Next race on the schedule for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is on October 6 at Talladega Speedway

Villeneuve on Las Vegas entry list

2007-09-20T12:38:00.000-04:00

Well, it's official now, Jacques Villeneuve will be driving in NASCAR this week-end. His name appears on the Craftsman Truck Series entry list for the Las Vegas race this week-end, where he will drive the #27 Toyota Tundra entry for Bill Davis Racing.

Villeneuve won't be the only Indy 500 champion on track as Buddy Lazier will also run the race. Lazier won the 2000 edition of the May classic.

Villeneuve will be the third ex-F1 driver t drive in the Truck series as Eliseo Salazar ran Watkins Glen in 1997 (finished 17th) and Olivier Beretta ran the Heartland Park Race in 1999 (also finished 17th) but both races were road races, meaning Villeneuve will be the first to do so on an oval.

Carpentier tests at Kentucky Speedway

2007-09-18T08:08:00.000-04:00

Patrick Carpentier participated yesterday in a test with Gillett-Evernham Motorsport (GEM) at Kentucky Speedway. Carpentier drove the #10 old-style Nextel Cup car usually run by Scott Riggs for about 140 laps around the track, along with Nextel regular Elliott Sadler and 2 Red Bull cars. Carpentier seemed quite happy as he got out of the car : "Our goal was not to achieve a new track record, but to get used to the car, but still, I registered good times. The team was satisfied with the day and I brought the car back in one piece"

During the day, Carpentier was served a variety of different car settings to see how he reacted to each of them and, in he recorded his best lap time at a tenth of a second faster than Sadler

Carpentier will be in Carolina this week-end to work out the details of a possible contract with GEM

No luck for the Wittmers at Miller.

2007-09-17T21:11:00.000-04:00

In Friday's Koni Challenge race at Miller Motorsport Park, the Wittmer brothers both had a

disappointing race. First, Kuno did not even get behind the wheel of his IMoto Acura as his teammate Nick Esayian hit a wall on lap 4. Nick on his side got behind the wheel in 21st place after a stint from co-driver Glenn Bocchino (IMoto owner) and got up to 4th place until he slid in the oil of a blown engine and had to retire with 10 laps to go.

Ranger let down by his engine

2007-09-17T20:40:00.000-04:00

Andrew Ranger had a hard luck this Sunday as he lost his engine while going up through the pack on lap 268 of the 300 lap event in Antigosh, Nova-Scotia. His title rival D.J. Kennington finished third, 10 spots in front of Ranger and thus, reduces the gap to 41 points going into the last race of the season at Kawartha. Despite a second place finish, early season contender J.R. Fitzpatrick is now mathematically out of this year's NASCAR Canadian Tire Series title run.

Another year in Canada for Ranger in 2008

2007-09-15T10:06:00.000-04:00

According to an article written by Pierre Lecours, Andrew Ranger would be back in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series in 2008, whether he wins the title or not this year. Although Ranger surprised everyone this year with his speed and maturity, his agent Alan Labrosse feels another season would help him gain experience in specific situations.

Labrosse also said they would like to run a race or two this year in a NASCAR feeder series but they don't have a budget for that now. They will try to put everything in place for next year, where Ranger should run 5 to 6 races on the other side of the border.

Ranger will be running tonight in the 11th race of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series in Nova-Scotia and still leads the championship with an 87 points advantage over D.J. Kennington before the 300 laps event.

The Wittmers at Miller Motorsport Park

2007-09-14T16:51:00.000-04:00

After their dominant win in Trois-Rivières in the last Koni Challenge race, the Wittmer brothers are back behind the wheel this week-end but this time in separate cars. The decision separate them was taken by IMoto because Nick Esayian, Kuno's teammate in World Challenge, is renting their second car and asked for Kuno to be his teammate for the race. Consequently, Nick will be sharing the other car with team owner Glenn Bocchino for the 2.5 hour race.

The Dumoulins also at Miller Motorsport Park with Alegra Motorsport

2007-09-14T16:34:00.000-04:00

The Dumoulin brothers will also be at Miller this week-end and in separate cars as well. Jean-François will drive the a Porsche GT3 with Carlos de Quesada while his brother Louis-Philippe will share the second Alegra Motorsport Rolex GT entry with Kris Wilson.

Marc-Antoine Camirand in Rolex at Miller Motorsport Park

2007-09-13T12:06:00.000-04:00

Building a race car from the ground up in 45 days? It's the challenge Spirit of Daytona just completed prior to this week's Rolex race at Miller Motorosport Park. St-Leonard d'Aston native Marc-Antoine Camirand was part of the process and will be behind the wheel this week-end along with Guy Cosmo and Doug Goad. "I've driven the car a dozen times to set it up but it was now time to compare ourselves to other cars and see where we stand" Camirand said. He then added : "We won't be on pole at Miller this week-end but will get ready for next season and the 24 hours of Daytona. My deal with the team includes this race and 6 more next year [ ... ] I'm really happy to be racing again. I did a lot of private testing with this team but I was beginning to miss the real racing"

Villeneuve 3rd on second Talladega test

2007-09-11T17:37:00.000-04:00

On his second day of testing at Talladega super speedway, Jacques Villeneuve was again the fastest Toyota on the speed charts after the morning's drafting session. This time, he sits in 3rd place with a best lap averaging 191.130 as the cars were using a smaller restrictor plate and a smaller wicker.

Dave Blaney, Jacques' teammate finished the session in 22nd place, 3rd of the Toyotas out of 61 cars that ran today.

Villeneuve's next visit behind a NASCAR driving wheel should be at Las Vegas where he is scheduled to make his NASCAR debut in the Craftsman Truck Series

Villeneuve learns the draft under cover

2007-09-11T12:50:00.000-04:00

On his first day of running in the draft, Jacques Villeneuve learned a lot from the pros yesterday, despite being under cover for the run. After issues with the main car in the morning, Villeneuve took the backup #22 for the afternoon session and few drivers knew he was driving it, just like Jimmie Johnson after passing together through a 17 cars field : "Really, that was Jacques? I was sure it was Blaney [...] He must be alright because I would have never thought it was a rookie following me in the draft". Jeff Burton had about the same comments after a bump drafting session with Villeneuve : "I saw Blaney's car in front of me and he was in a perfect place for a push so I bumped him on the backstretch. He then pushed me back in the same fashion [... ] I'm not that surprised of seeing him driver like a veteran. He was champion in F1, that means he can drive... fast".

Villeneuve brought the car back with a slightly bent front bumper which pleased his crew chief Slugger Labbe : "That means Jacques learned to push, which you have to do here at Talladega"

Villeneuve 11th in afternoon drafting session

2007-09-10T21:11:00.000-04:00

Although Jacques Villeneuve told the press he would be taking it easy this afternoon during the drafting session at Talladega Speedway, he ended up 11th on the time charts, out of 70 cars. This test was the first super speedway drafting session run with the new Car Of Tomorrow (COT) which will be used for the October 7th race at the same super speedway in Alabama.

Villeneuve ran his best lap in 49.278 seconds, for an average speed of 194.326, about half a second behind the fastest lap of Johnny Sauter which ran a 48.816 for 196.165 mph, more than 4 mph faster than pole speed last April with the old cup car.

Radio-Canada reported Villeneuve went out for 5 runs of 28, 26, 16, 15 and 12 laps for 97 laps total, more than half the distance of the Talladega 500 (188 laps)

Carpentier will not get 4th GEM car at NHIS

2007-09-10T18:16:00.000-04:00

Gillett Evernham Motorsport (GEM) announced today that Boris Said will drive their 4th entry (#98) at New Hampshire International Speedway (NHIS) . The car will be used for research and development for the upcoming 2008 season. Rumours had been flying for a while that Patrick Carpentier might be sitting in that car at NHIS. GEM also fields that #98 car in this week's Talladega tests with Jason Keller at the wheel.

Villeneuve spent the first Talladega day getting confortable with the Cup car

2007-09-10T17:59:00.000-04:00

Jacques Villeneuve today told SceneDaily a bit about his first day of testing at Talladega with the Nextel Cup teams : "We got going very late this morning and only got a couple runs in - we haven't been able to work on setup at all yet[ ... ] I was just getting used to running the fast laps out there as far as staying up to the top of the race track as long as possible before coming back down. I'm still working to figure everything out, but we will get more time this afternoon"

When questioned about the drafting practice that would take place later in the day, he added "I've been told that I will be wondering what this bunch of lunatics is doing out there running so close to each other the whole time - just like kids I suppose, but it should be fun [...] I am probably going to stay in the back and watch what happens."

Engine failure for Villeneuve at Talladega test

2007-09-10T17:44:00.000-04:00

Jacques Villeneuve was on scene this Monday to test the Car Of Tomorrow (COT) for it's upcoming race at Talladega on October 7th (first race for the COT on a super speedway). Villeneuve's run was a short one as his engine let go on his first lap out. Bill Davis Racing's spokesperson told Radio-Canada that Villeneuve had nothing to do with the failure and that he went quickly back on track with the backup car.

Villeneuve was shown on Jayski's testing page as last car of 62 in the morning practice with a recorded speed of 162 mph while the 61st place car was at 181 mph.

Ranger holds on to his lead

2007-09-10T08:04:00.000-04:00

After a 6th place finish saturday at Barrie Speedway's 1/3 of mile, NASCAR Canadian Tire Series' driver Andrew Ranger holds on to it's championship lead while rival D.J. Kennington clinches a victory out of a spectacular repair on pit road where they attached the throttle with a bungee cord to replace a broken return spring.

Although Ranger lost some ground in the standings, he still has an 87 points advantage over Kennington with 2 races to go.

Carpentier would run the 2007 chase and the complete 2008 season

2007-09-08T10:11:00.000-04:00

ESPN today announced that George Gillett, majority owner at Gillett Evernham Motorsport (GEM), was quoted on radio CKAC saying Patrick Carpentier would run the 2007 Nextel Cup Chase races and probably the complete 2008 season. GEM currently runs 3 Nextel Cup cars but is scheduled to add a 4th for development purposes for the end of the season, which would make room for Carpentier this year. Scott Riggs' ride at GEM is on jeopardy for next year so most experts expect Carpentier to take that seat for 2008.

Carpentier close to a deal with GEM

2007-09-07T12:56:00.000-04:00

The Canadian Press reported today Patrick Carpentier would be close to a deal with Gillett Evernham Motorsport(GEM) for a NASCAR ride. Robert Desrosiers, Carpentier's representative, told that, they don't have a contract or a racing schedule yet but are sure about one thing : Patrick will be testing with GEM pretty soon, probably as soon as Kentucky next week. He then added : "I believe that after the tests, I think all of the cards are going to fall in place and we'll have more of a definite schedule on what Patrick's going to do this season [...] There are still quite a few races left in Busch and Nextel Cup and it's going to be up to Mr. Evernham and Mr. Gillett to see where they want to put Patrick."

No Le Mans ride for Villeneuve in 2008?

2007-09-07T12:10:00.000-04:00

René Fagnan from Auto123.com had talks recently with Peugeot representatives where he was told Jacques Villeneuve would not be driving in the 2008 Le Mans 24 hours. The Peugeot representative said "Jacques told us that, if he didn't have a NASCAR ride for 2008, he'd do Le Mans with us again. [...] It all went very well last June. Serge Saulnier, team boss, chooses the drivers and hasn't confirmed anything for next season. There were some contacts with Villeneuve but if he runs the whole 2008 schedule like it seems, it's clear it is going to be very difficult to run Le Mans. If it wasn't so, he surely would have found a seat with us"

Villeneuve ran the 2007 Le Mans 24 hours for Peugeot this year and was running 2nd place with co-drivers Marc Gené and Nicolas Minassian when their engine died with 90 minutes to go

Carpentier and Samax splits

2007-09-07T08:03:00.000-04:00

It looks like Patrick Carpentier won't be driving for SAMAX in the Rolex Daytona Prototypes anymore this year. Philippe Crépeau from Radio-Canada.ca learned that the partnership ended on the night of the Watkins Glen race on August 10th. "The team didn't have the money to pay me. They already owe me a lot so we decided to stop it there" said Carpentier. He then added : "I will not lose time on that. I don't really feel like it. It sad that it happened but life goes on. We are looking forward now. I'm focusing on NASCAR

Villeneuve is approved by NASCAR for COT test

2007-09-06T18:07:00.000-04:00

They're were little reasons to believe otherwise but NASCAR announced today they approved Jacques Villeneuve's participation in the manufacturer's test that will be run at Talladega next week. Villeneuve will run the Car Of Tomorrow (COT) car alongside other NEXTEL regulars on the 2.66 mile super speedway.

Team owner Bill Davis also talked about having Villeneuve run the ARCA tests at Talladega on Sept. 24th and 25th (in was stated earlier this week that he would be running the ARCA race there on Oct. 5th)

Villeneuve in ARCA car for Talladega

2007-09-06T12:33:00.000-04:00

Also read in the Journal de Montréal yesterday : Jacques Villeneuve will be on track at Talladega on October 5th with the ARCA series

Carpentier in a 4th GEM car?

2007-09-06T12:24:00.000-04:00

The Journal de Montréal reported yesterday that there are talks going on between Patrick Carpentier and Gillett Evernham Motorsport(GEM) for a spot in their 4th car to be added before the season ends. Gillett was quoted saying : "Carpentier is an extraordinary young man [...] He'll be testing for us in Kentucky and since we're adding a 4th Nextel car this season, he might be behind the wheel for one or more races before the season end."

GEM will be testing at Talladega next week but Carpentier will not be allowed to run the car since he's not been approved by NASCAR to run the super speedways yet. On the other hand, a car built specifically for Patrick is being prepared in GEM's headquarters.

Villeneuve getting comfortable with the COT

2007-09-06T12:13:00.000-04:00

Jacques Villeneuve took the wheel of a Nextel Car of Tomorrow (COT) for the first time yesterday at Kentucky Speedway and got at speed much quicker than the people at Bill David Racing expected. Slugger Labbe, Villeneuve's crew chief said they had planned the whole morning for Villeneuve to get comfortable with the car but he was in the expected speed range at his 3rd lap which enabled them to do much more work than expected. In the end, Jacques ran 162 laps of the 1.5 mile oval. With these results, their testing schedule is now kicking to a new speed as Jacques should be testing with the Nextel guys at Talladega next week if he receives his clearance from NASCAR for the 2.66 miles super speedway.

The rumours heard yesterday also confirmed Villeneuve would use the last 7 races of the Craftsman Truck Series in preparation for his 2008 Sprint Cup assault.

The timing is right

2007-09-05T12:49:00.000-04:00

After reading the news in the past couple of days, I realized one thing : The Flying Frenchmen are back into motorsport. Take a good look around around you'll see them everywhere, drivers from Quebec are invading the motorsport scene once again. After Jacques Villeneuve left F1, Patrick Carpentier lost his IRL ride and Andrew Ranger leaving ChampCar, one could easily think the dream was over but now, we've got Bruno Spengler knocking at the door of Formula One (as a test driver for Dave Richard's new ProDrive adventure) for the next year, Jacques Villeneuve and Patrick Carpentier (after a great Busch run in Montreal) signing with NASCAR teams to have preparation rides for a full assault next year. We have also seen Kevin Lacroix winning on his first week-end of Champcar Atlantic racing, Jean-François Dumoulin won the GT class at the Daytona 24 hours and Alex Tagliani is still running as good as he can with what he's giving in Champcar.

Only one conclusion is possible, the Flying Frenchmen are back and you'll get every bit of the stories here!