Former Formula 1 champion Jacques Villeneuve to drive for Penske Racing – NASCAR news
Former Formula 1 champion Jacques Villeneuve will now be showcasing his skills for the Nationwide Series Champion team Penske Racing.
Villeneuve will be taking part in the road track events to be held at Road America and in Montreal.
The Canadian driver tested the car at a recent event held at Road Atlanta and will be driving car no. 22 of Penske Racing. Earlier, Nationwide Series champion Brad Keselowski was driving the same car but he is not defending his title since he is already
taking part in the Sprint Cup Series.
Villeneuve will appear in the Elkhart Lake event due on June 25, 2011. He will make his second appearance in the Gilles Villeneuve Circuit in Montreal two months later on August 20. He has already raced three times in Nationwide Series at the Montreal venue.
Villeneuve said, “I am really looking forward to joining Penske Racing and getting the chance to race at two of my favourite tracks with the series championship team. I am excited to work with the Discount Tire/Ruby Tuesday Dodge crew and we should be very
competitive in both of these events.”
The 1997 Formula 1 champion is one of the three drivers to win the IndyCar title, Indianapolis 500. He finished 25th and 3rd at Road America and Montreal respectively. The Canadian driver has only five starts in the Nationwide Series
in the past three years and all of the races were held at road courses. He has been able to start within the top six places at every race but could only score three top-ten finishes after leading the races. The race held at Watkins Glen in 2010 was the only
race he could not lead but still finished at 8th place.
President of Penske Racing, Tim Cindric said, “It's great to be able bring aboard a driver like Jacques, who has raced and won at the highest levels of motorsports. Jacques has run well at both of these tracks before and he'll be a good fit on the #22 Discount
Tire/Ruby Tuesday team.”
Along with his Nationwide races, Villeneuve also has the distinction of attempting three races in the Sprint Cup Series and seven races at the Camping World Truck Series. His last race in NASCAR’s premier series was at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in
the 2010 season in which he finished in 29th place.
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