Openwheel drivers to NASCAR

Every time we look another F1/IRL/CC/??? driver is rumored or reported to be coming to NASCAR. http://www.motorsportforum.com/forum...s/rolleyes.gif
Everyone has varying opinions on that with the openwheel fans being the loudest. http://www.motorsportforum.com/forum...s/rolleyes.gif

:arrow: Instead of starting a new thread every time a new rumor appears, post it here.
That way anyone who cares can go to 1 thread & sing their driver's praises together. http://www.motorsportforum.com/forum...ongue-anim.gif

Previous threads will be merged here.

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race aficionado
:up: JV to finally join the truck series????? - 24th Aug 07, 10:49



It's the buzz ou there . . . again.

I do hope JV joins the NASCAR circus. He has a very large and feisty fan base and can bring some excitement to the series.
Also, once he's in, the doors will open for Bush & Nextel series.

Let's see if this time it's for real.

:s mokin:

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I have the link to the story on TSN up here in Canada: http://www.tsn.ca/auto_racing/news_s...16753&hubname=

I think this is great news. One thing is for sure, they wont have a PR zombie. Jacques shoots from the hip and isn't afraid to hold his own out there....it could get interesting if he starts beating and banging on someone. I do think this may be the first time ever, or certainly in a long time that an f1 world champion has gotten behind the wheel of anything in NASCAR. I do think Jackie Stewart tried driving at Daytona once, but I am not sure.....

Another arrogant knob. he will get along great with the Busch brothers, Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart.

In today's Journal de Montreal it says that if the testing goes well, he could be racing in the truck series next month in Vegas.

NASCAR.com is reporting JV to Bill Davis Cup program in 2008

Good luck to him!

http://www.nascar.com/2007/news/head...cup/index.html

My man Juan is happy.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/61746

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Montoya backs Villeneuve's move

By Diego Mejia
Friday, August 24th 2007, 23:00 GMT


Juan Pablo Montoya has welcomed Jacques Villeneuve's move into NASCAR, after it was announced today that the former Formula One world champion will be testing a Crafstman Series truck on Monday, hoping to start his stock-car career.

Villeneuve himself had backed Montoya's move to NASCAR when he learned about it last year, showing since then that he has interest in the series.

"I think it's cool," Montoya said about Villeneuve's move. "I think it's nice to see Jacques and hopefully he does well. If I can help in any way I will. He's a nice guy.

"He was a little bit like me. You know, he likes racing and he's an aggressive guy and I think he'll like it. I'm sure he will like it. We both run hard and people don't like that. I guess people here like it. Some do, some don't but I think the fans love it."

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Interesting comments from Juan, considering what he said about him during their shared F1 days.

I don't understand how some people still doubt that he'll be racing.

I'll eat my shoe if he doesn't run the races that BDR says he will. Seriously. My shoe.

This is more great news for NASCAR in my opinion. Villeneuve will add further international credibility to the series and gain more press coverage. He was always interesting in F1 - and his no-nonsense style will likely make him someone NASCAR fans love to hate (kind of like JPM). My only worry is that #36 has been poor this season and of NASCAR continues the top 35 rule into 2008 he will struggle to make races.

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Originally Posted by dwboogityfan

This is more great news for NASCAR in my opinion...

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Great News, JV and Monty against the Nascar Stars !!!

Greetings from Heidelberg, Germany.

Spotter

Bill Davis Racing plans to field a full-time Sprint Cup entry for former Formula One world champion Jacques Villeneuve in 2008, team owner Bill Davis said Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway. Davis said the plan right now is to run Villeneuve in the #22 Craftsman Truck Series entry later this season, as well as test the Car of Tomorrow. BDR will also field a car for Villeneuve in the ARCA race at Talladega in October in preparation for the Daytona 500 in 2008, Davis said. Then? "And then we'll go Cup racing next year," Davis said. Davis said that Villeneuve's jump to Cup doesn't necessarily mean he'll be in the #36 Toyota and that a three-car team "is a possibility." Veteran Nextel Cup crew chief Slugger Labbe will lead Villeneuve's team, Davis said. Villeneuve will debut in NASCAR during a CTS test at Chicagoland Speedway on Monday. The hope right now is debut him in a CTS race next month in Las Vegas. "It is an experiment, if you will," Davis said. "But he's pretty confident he can do it, and we are, too. I think it'll work out just fine.

If all goes according to plan, 1997 Formula 1 World Driving Champion and 1995 Indianapolis 500 winner Jacques Villeneuve will replace #36-Jeremy Mayfield next year in a Bill Davis Racing Nextel Cup Toyota. Team General Manager Mike Brown said over the next six weeks, Villeneuve will undergo an intensive testing program that will include seat time in a Craftsman Truck Series entry and possibly an ARCA car at Talladega Superspeedway in October. “That’s what we hope to do, that’s what he feels like he’d like to do,” Brown said when asked if Villeneuve would drive a BDR Cup car next season. “Obviously, the whole NASCAR program is new to him, so we’re going to put together an aggressive test program for him. The truck … is much like the COT car we’ll be racing next year. Obviously, he’s got to go through the validation process with NASCAR, so we’re looking at places we can go run him in trucks, maybe in the ARCA series … an aggressive test program, not only with the trucks, but with the COT cars … Kentucky (Speedway), all the different places we can go to.” Brown said sponsor 360 OTC likely will not be back with BDR next season

jayski.com

I always liked JV.
He is pretty underrated.
He won the PPG ICWS/CART Championship & Indianapolis 500 when they were both at there most competitive state.
And he won the Formula 1 World Drivers Championship.
His biggest mistake that hurt his career was signing with BAR Honda.
They may have offered him the money, but they didn't offer him a competitive car.
After after a few years of running at the middle and back of the pack with BAR, the front running teams wanted nothing to do with him.

The only way I see this happening so fast is JV has a sponsor lined up / interested.
Also he didn't seem so interested in Nascar, with "maybe it's something I'd like to do" quotes. I wonder if the success of the Busch race in Montreal earlier this month had anything to do with motivating him? ;-)

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Originally Posted by SmokeFan20

I always liked JV.
He is pretty underrated.
He won the PPG ICWS/CART Championship & Indianapolis 500 when they were both at there most competitive state.
And he won the Formula 1 World Drivers Championship.
His biggest mistake that hurt his career was signing with BAR Honda.
They may have offered him the money, but they didn't offer him a competitive car.
After after a few years of running at the middle and back of the pack with BAR, the front running teams wanted nothing to do with him.

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I suspect that he became personna non grata due to his personality too. It happens.

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Originally Posted by geek49203

Not only are many of the skills needed in NASCAR the exact opposite of those learned in open-wheeled racing, but the open wheel guys struggle the first time they reach for a weight jacker and it's not there.

On top of that, a F1 car doesn't rely on the driver for input on the performance of the car, since they have bazillion-dollar telemetry systems. Although some teams use those in testing, as well as chassis simulation programs, the series still relies heavily on the driver working with the crew chief via good old-fashioned talking.

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JV has one advantage though that most OW guys don't, in that he has won on ovals in open wheel. Like JPM, he has won the Indy 500, and when JV went to f1, he took a lot of the oval racing mentality with him when it came to setups. His pass where he went around the outside of Schuy in Estoril was because he set the car up like he was racing on an oval to take advantage of that one corner. He isn't afraid to try new things or learn, and I think he can make the adjustment. The key for any of these guys is to be able to have the time and luxury of working with a team who are patient to learn.

JV wants to race again, and f1 is out, and CCWS is someplace he wont be bothered with. The IRL has never asked and JV isn't going to go there and run ovals for a nickel when he can go to NASCAR and get a whole dollar.

If Bill Davis Racing puts him in the car for the next season full time, I will be thrilled as a Canadian fan and a fan of JV, but I doubt it will be an easy season. Jacques is gonna find out that this playground has lots of tough nasty people who wont have a problem with knocking him around, so I hope he goes into the corners "Elbows up" as we say in hockey......

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Originally Posted by Jonesi

The only way I see this happening so fast is JV has a sponsor lined up / interested.
Also he didn't seem so interested in Nascar, with "maybe it's something I'd like to do" quotes. I wonder if the success of the Busch race in Montreal earlier this month had anything to do with motivating him? ;-)

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Hes been making a run to get into NASCAR for over a year now and has talked to several team owners. His comment was from quite a while ago. JV sees that NASCAR is a great opportunity and thinks he go do well going against the best in oval racing.

looks like BDR will get a few more Sundays off now with the 36 team :p :

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/news/s...d=2&id=2991229

Seems he's a little past 50/50 now.

unfortunately for a lot of you I think ole Caviar Boy is going to kick a lot of "Fried Chicken Ass" And it won't take him a lot of time to start doin it!!!

I'm sure he'll manage to come up with a top20 result every now and then, as soon as he gets used to the new car.

Penske racing have anounced on jayski that Sam Hornish will run 5-6 races in the #77 this year.

I'm looking forward to Jacques driving in NASCAR. I've been a big fan of his since I first saw him race at Nazareth in 1995.

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Originally Posted by RaceFanStan

Every time we look another F1/IRL/CC/??? driver is rumored or reported to be coming to NASCAR. http://www.motorsportforum.com/forum...s/rolleyes.gif
Everyone has varying opinions on that with the openwheel fans being the loudest. http://www.motorsportforum.com/forum...s/rolleyes.gif

:arrow: Instead of starting a new thread every time a new rumor appears, post it here.
That way anyone who cares can go to 1 thread & sing their driver's praises together. http://www.motorsportforum.com/forum...ongue-anim.gif

Previous threads will be merged here.

---

I find this funny and well obviously a sign of how you feel about OWR.

To lump everyone into one pile is like merging the threads on where Dale Jr and Busch were going, both impact each other so why did they have separate threads?

There are some good O.W. drivers and I expect to see some of them win a race. That is what is great about Nascar, even the mid-pack drivers can win a race now and then.

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Originally Posted by SmokeFan20

I always liked JV.
His biggest mistake that hurt his career was signing with BAR Honda.

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I disagree - I think when he started nailing Danni Minogue, his racing career went down in flames - but happy flames, mind you ;)

Speaking of Aussies, Marcus Ambrose did quite well in open wheel racing in the UK - he was comfortably beating Kimi Raikkonen for a while there...

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Originally Posted by JasonD

I find this funny and well obviously a sign of how you feel about OWR.

To lump everyone into one pile is like merging the threads on where Dale Jr and Busch were going, both impact each other so why did they have separate threads?

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I'm doing the best I can.
I just took over a short while back.
BTW, I very recently just learned how to merge the threads/posts.

Number One is that this is the NASCAR forum.
While the openwheel drivers looking at NASCAR is news ...
the number of threads to be used for openwheel drivers has to be limited.
If that offends someone I guess you have the right to complain to someone up the ladder.

I will also be merging NASCAR driver threads when they occur.

Just so it is known, I used to love openwheel racing before the split.
I still have favorites in the openwheel series'.
My openwheel favorites are :
In ChampCar, Paul Tracy is a long-time favorite of mine.
I'm also liking a young driver named Will Power.
I got somewhat familar with Oriol Servia when he subbed for an injured Paul Tracy. (good driver !)
Many of my ChampCar favorites are gone/retired/went to IRL/now team owners :
Jimmy Vasser, Mario & Michael Andretti, Al Unser Sr, Bobby Rahal, Danny Sullivan, Alex Zanardi, Rick Mears, Emerson Fittipaldi, AJ Foyt, & Scott Goodyear.

In IndyCar my favorites are : Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti, Sam Hornish Jr, Helio Castroneves, Scott Sharp, Buddy Rice, Buddy Lazier & Al Unser Jr.

So, people shouldn't say that I hate openwheel racing because I don't hate it.
In fact I find several of the Champ/Indy drivers quite capable & sometimes entertaining.
The split damaged both series & yet they both still STRUGGLE to survive.
The openwheel racing just doesn't speak to me the way it used to ......

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Originally Posted by RaceFanStan

I'm doing the best I can.
I just took over a short while back.
BTW, I very recently just learned how to merge the threads/posts.
Number One is that this is the NASCAR forum.
While the openwheel drivers looking at NASCAR is news ... the number of threads to be used for openwheel drivers has to be limited.
snip...

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On the technical side of merged threads: When viewing in "hybrid" thread mode which I normally do. The display of messages only goes as far as the first thread. The rest are orphaned below, and the only way to get lower is to click on each message in the overview box. Is it possible to append them better so they flow?

On the editorial side of merged threads: I don't have a problem with merging all the OW driver rumors, but I think once they have a deal, they become Nascar drivers and deserve a seperate thread for the signing/deal.

Stan, reading your rationale, It works for me for now. That said, as Jones points out, once they are signed, you will have to allow for individual threads.

BTW, I watched "Inside Nextel Cup" and they were promoting their new SPEED reality show about NASCAR and they had the footage of JV in the shop and in the cockpit being fitted. So he is serious and he is looking for a fit in NASCAR.

I like many JV fans hopes he will do well, but with JV, you often get a lot of noise to go with the results. Love him or hate him, he will speak his mind, both in the media and behind the wheel. Unlike most of the F1 guys, he is like Montoya, not afraid to mix it up and not afraid of ovals. It will help his learning curve, but man it is going to be steep, and I am not convinced Bill Davis has the pieces there to put the best car under him. JPM is at least with Ganassi, who has the bucks, the resources and the proven engine program from Dodge. BDR is no different than most of the Toyota teams.....struggling...

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Originally Posted by RaceFanStan

The split damaged both series & yet they both still STRUGGLE to survive.
The openwheel racing just doesn't speak to me the way it used to ......

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And thats really why several North American open wheeler drivers want to make the switch to NASCAR. F1 is probably out of the equation for them and theres more of a career in NASCAR than CCWS or IRL. Whether they will have the same passion for NASCAR than as for OW racing is up to the individual, but there is definitely more of a queue of people wanting to get into NASCAR, generally meaning tougher racing and more $$$.

Scott Dixon, Dario Franchetti the next lot? Remember Tony Stewart came from the IRL, with less of a winning streak to Scott. It was rumoured he would be trying a Busch car.

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Originally Posted by RaceFanStan

I'm doing the best I can.
I just took over a short while back.
BTW, I very recently just learned how to merge the threads/posts.

Number One is that this is the NASCAR forum.
While the openwheel drivers looking at NASCAR is news ...
the number of threads to be used for openwheel drivers has to be limited.
If that offends someone I guess you have the right to complain to someone up the ladder.

I will also be merging NASCAR driver threads when they occur.

Just so it is known, I used to love openwheel racing before the split.
I still have favorites in the openwheel series'.
My openwheel favorites are :
In ChampCar, Paul Tracy is a long-time favorite of mine.
I'm also liking a young driver named Will Power.
I got somewhat familar with Oriol Servia when he subbed for an injured Paul Tracy. (good driver !)
Many of my ChampCar favorites are gone/retired/went to IRL/now team owners :
Jimmy Vasser, Mario & Michael Andretti, Al Unser Sr, Bobby Rahal, Danny Sullivan, Alex Zanardi, Rick Mears, Emerson Fittipaldi, AJ Foyt, & Scott Goodyear.

In IndyCar my favorites are : Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti, Sam Hornish Jr, Helio Castroneves, Scott Sharp, Buddy Rice, Buddy Lazier & Al Unser Jr.

So, people shouldn't say that I hate openwheel racing because I don't hate it.
In fact I find several of the Champ/Indy drivers quite capable & sometimes entertaining.
The split damaged both series & yet they both still STRUGGLE to survive.
The openwheel racing just doesn't speak to me the way it used to ......

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Sounds fare. :D

In Today's Toronto Sun, Dean McNulty's motorsports column has a good Dale Earnhardt story, but also, a great comment from Allan McNish, a former f1 driver with Toyota on JV's jump to NASCAR:

The last word on Villeneuve's move to NASCAR, however, will go to his old F-1 buddy Allan McNish, who upon hearing of his truck test told Sun Media: "He should do just fine. After all he drove one for five years when he was with Honda."


Cue the rimshot!!!



Oh ya...the link...with a wishful thinking rumour to get the Craftsman Trucks to Mosport:

http://www.torontosun.com/Sports/Oth...51771-sun.html

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Originally Posted by dwboogityfan

This is more great news for NASCAR in my opinion. Villeneuve will add further international credibility to the series and gain more press coverage. He was always interesting in F1 - and his no-nonsense style will likely make him someone NASCAR fans love to hate (kind of like JPM). My only worry is that #36 has been poor this season and of NASCAR continues the top 35 rule into 2008 he will struggle to make races.

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Somehow I get the feeling that having a NEXTEL Cup driver move to F1 would add more credibility.

And Stan, if you want this to be the only thread involving OW drivers, you could at least stickey it.

http://www.speedtv.com/articles/craftsman/nascar/39810/

JV has completed two days of testing and was immediately up to speed. His best lap was two-tenths off Mike Skinner in Toyota Tundra.

Can't wait to see him in Cup cars. He'll give the likes of Tony Stewart a good taste of their own medicine on and off the track! :D

I must admit, I eagerly await the day JV gets on the wrong side of Tony :laugh:

JV Rawks in Chicagoland


“Jacques did very well,” said BDR Truck Team Manager Mark Chambers. “He gives incredible feedback and adapted to the truck extremely well. Overall, I would have to say that he was very impressive on and off the track. He will be a great asset to BDR.”

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Originally Posted by Mark in Oshawa

Oh ya...the link...with a wishful thinking rumour to get the Craftsman Trucks to Mosport:

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Yes please!!!

It'll be interesting seeing JVs nascar career unfold.