Villeneuve and Carpentier testing in Atlanta

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 back in the COT in Phoenix and Homestead?

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.

Villeneuve 11th in afternoon drafting session

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)

Engine failure for Villeneuve at Talladega test

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.

Villeneuve is approved by NASCAR for COT test

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 getting comfortable with the COT

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.