TALLADEGA, Ala. — In the tunnel-vision world of NASCAR, race drivers that don’t come up with a typical stock-car background are often viewed as carpet baggers and less than worthy of being taken seriously as a driver that started his racing career at Talladega Sport Track.
So when Jacques Villeneuve announced his first NASCAR Nextel Cup race would be at Talladega Superspeedway in Sunday’s UAW-Ford 500, regular drivers in the series started screaming that he didn’t belong.
Never mind the fact that Villeneuve won the 1995 Indianapolis 500 and the 1995 CART title and is the only driver in the garage area who has won a Formula One world championship.
That’s right, for as much attention as Juan Pablo Montoya has gotten in his rookie season of Cup, he never won the Formula One world championship. Villeneuve won the world title in 1997.
So after Friday’s practice sessions ended, Villeneuve took the comments in stride, as the French-Canadian said if he were involved in NASCAR’s Chase for the Championship, he’d probably say the same thing.
“I don’t think they’re saying I’m not qualified to race,” Villeneuve said. “All that they are saying is that it might be a little early during their Chase. I think I would say the same thing in their shoes. You don’t want any unknowns out there when you’re running for a championship. At the same time, I’ve always raced intelligently.
“I’m not here to try and be a hero. I don’t have any points and I’m not here for a championship. All I want to do is get the race mileage and get ready for Daytona.”
Drivers such as Villeneuve and Indy 500 winner and IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti have to run at least one race on a restrictor-plate oval before they are certified to compete in February’s Daytona 500. Franchitti competed in Friday’s ARCA race at Talladega.
Villeneuve not only made the race, he started sixth after an impressive qualifying effort. As a courtesy to the drivers in The Chase, Villeneuve volunteered to drop to the back of the field before the start so that he wouldn’t be in anybody’s way when the green flag dropped.
“It was the logical thing to do,” Villeneuve said. “Our car was set up for qualifying and we didn’t know how it was going to handle. Starting from the front or the back doesn’t really change anything. I had more to learn from the back, anyway.”
He was impressive in his debut, finishing 21st as the last car on the lead lap.