DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Jacques Villeneuve knew his odds at making the starting lineup for the 50th Daytona 500 were slim, but he was ready to race his way in through Thursday’s Gatorade Duel at Daytona qualifying race.
Fellow Canadian Patrick Carpentier also knew he had to advance into the 500 through the race, but his car was much faster and more competitive than Villeneuve’s Toyota. In fact, Carpentier’s Dodge was in position for one of the two transfer positions for most of the race.
But both drivers’ dreams ended with a crash into the wall.
Villeneuve, the 1995 Indianapolis 500 winner and 1997 Formula One World Champion, crashed into the fourth turn wall on the 15th lap. The crash also took out Scotland’s Dario Franchitti, winner of last year’s Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar title. Others involved in the crash included Jamie McMurray and Stanton Barrett.
Not fast enough to make the field based on speed from last Sunday’s single-lap qualifications, Villeneuve was out of the Daytona 500 and without a sponsor, his NASCAR dreams may be parked. On Sunday, his team owner, Bill Davis, announced Villeneuve would be replaced at least temporarily by the tandem of Johnny Benson and Mike Skinner.
“At least there won’t be any angry sponsors,” Villeneuve said. “The car was just a little too loose and I got sideways a few times. I knew one of those times it was going to catch me up. These cars aren’t bad when you have a perfect setup in the car, but when you start sliding, they are a handful, mostly in the traffic.
“My car was quite quick. It was just a little too loose and I got caught out there.”
Villeneuve believes his team was never able to get the proper setup on the car as NASCAR teams continue to struggle with the new car that will be used in all races this season.
“It’s very, very disappointing, but we had a terrible day yesterday,” Villeneuve said of Wednesday’s practice. “The car wasn’t working. We found the problem, we fixed it, but then we weren’t really sure what the balance was going to be and it was just a little too loose. I got sideways quite a few times and one of those times it was going to catch me out.”
By contrast, Carpentier is driving a fully sponsored Dodge for the well-funded Gillett Evernham Motorsports team. George Gillett, owner of the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens, is the principle partner of the team and of the open-wheel drivers involved in NASCAR this season, many consider Carpentier to be the most proficient at restrictor-plate racing.
He was in solid shape to make the race before his tire began to deflate. It finally blew two laps from the scheduled 60-lap distance, sending Carpentier’s Dodge into the second turn wall.
“We went all the way to the max,” Carpentier said. “The car was fast all day, but it started to get really tight on me. I kept hitting the wall there the last four or five laps. I figured I might as well stay close to the wall, so when that thing let go I would be right up there.
“I thought we were going to finish it there at the end with only a few laps to go. Our guys did a great job in the pits. There was nothing else you could do. We’re going to go to Fontana and dig deeper to get into the field.”