A washed up F1 star for NASCAR. Presenting Jacques Villeneuve...?

Question

Apparantly Jacques Villeneuve is heading to NASCAR and he is going to test a truck on Monday. His father was possibly the most gifted driver of all time before he was so cruelly taken away from us.

But Jacques was once an okay driver but is now nothing but a has been. He was an exceptional rookie and he should have won his first race but for an oil pressure leak. He won the championship in 1997 in the Williams which was by far the best car on the grid but Schumacher in the vastly inferior Ferrari pushed him all the way to the last race. He then went on an ego trip and joined BAR thinking they could win their first f1 race and hasnt won anything since 1997. I think 3rd is his best finish. He got sacked by them eventually and came back to Renault who didnt resign him and he was beaten by a succession of decidedly average drivers and BMW dropped him mid way through last year for a rookie(who went on to finish 3rd in his 3rd race after Villeneuve could only manage 6th all season).

He was never a great driver and was flattered by a great team (williams) and he is a loudmouth who talks sh*t all the time.

Unlike Montoya who was fast when he left F1, and the main reason he left was because his team mate Raikkonen was considered the best driver in F1 after schumacher and McLaren wanted him over Montoya and Alonso(the world champion) had already been signed. Montoya would have been able to keep his McLaren seat had he decided to stay in F1 and not signed for chip. Montoya is gifted but flawed, Villeneuve is just flawed.

Jacques was sacked for an outright lack of pace. Nothing more, nothing less. I hate him and if you think Montoya(i dont btw) has a bad attitude wait till you see this guy...

fair enough PapaBill i guess the question is what are peoples opinions on him joining?

And Donna what is your problem with guys changing series. Good race drivers are good race drivers no matter where they came from. There was talk of Valentino Rossi(MotoGP) moving to F1 and people there thought it was a wonderful idea if he had the pace so whats your problem?

Terri Q - Do you actually believe NASCAR has a bigger fanbase than F1? Are you ******* nuts? F1 is by far and away the richest and most popular form of motorsport in the world. Kimi Raikkonen is getting paid €51million this year before endorsements and F1 is international not just restricted to one continent. Hes going there because he cant cut it in F1 anymore and no one will give him anymore chances...

Answer 1

A few comments:

For those of you stating that Jacques is still a good driver and just had lousy equipment - why then was he slower than teammates Button, Alonso, and Heidfeld w/ identical cars? The only reason he ever won a championship is because the car was so far superior to anything else on the track. His last podium was 2001. They guy was overrated when he arrived, and his skills deteriorated over time as do most drivers'.

And to Shaggy: you'll notice that no successful F1 drivers are trying to come to NASCAR. I think a lot of people that are trying to switch are looking to NASCAR as a way to extend their careers as the series seems to be friendly to older drivers, and it is less physically taxing on the body (i.e. no 6G breaking forces). I think they find it isn't any easier because they aren't acustomed to working w/ the traffic or having to work with drivers in a draft. Also, the only NASCAR driver that would have had a chance to come to F1 would have been Jeff Gordon, but as you've heard him say, he's too old now and too established where he is.

Answer 2

Jacques was more than an okay driver in his CART and early F1 days (and even prior). While he's not the greatest driver who has been F1 Champion, he's no slouch either. Sure, he is a big-mouth. I have no argument with that. He let his attitude slip to a point where his arrogance that had driven him to be a race winner became one that made him think he didn't have to work for it anymore. I'd push some blame on good old Craig Pollack for not tapping Jacques on the shoulder and saying "hey pal, time for an attidude adjustment."

Let him try NASCAR. What's the harm. We've already seen that being a winning driver in open-wheel racing is not necessarily going to mean you do well in NASCAR (hello... A.J.... how's that Sunday afternoon tan coming?). And we've seen that some can do it. Truth is Montoya's not doing that badly is he.

The thing that Jacques Villeneuve has going for him is he's nervy. He's certainly as willing as any driver in any series out there today to plunge into the fray and not be afraid of any tradin' paint. Let's see what he can do. I don't expect a heck of a lot, but I don't think he will be as much of a no-show as Allmendinger should he get hired in the show. At least he'll do better if he shows up to race (rather than just pick up a pay check).

RP

Answer 3

The way I look at it, if Villeneuve is fast enough to race in NASCAR, then I think it's okay for him to come on over. I don't think he brings the name recognition that other F1 drivers might bring, or even some of the IRL drivers for that matter. I mean, could you imagine if Danica Patrick said she was planning on joining NASCAR? And not the truck series, but the Nextel series? Now THAT would get a lot of press.

Answer 4

The problem with F1 is if you do not get the right ride at the right time, you will not be successful. He was a former f1 champion... do you think he forgot how to drive? In NASCAR, it can work the same way... (see Dale Jarrett) but the cars a way more closer to the same.
I dont think you can hold Jac's latest f1 failures against him, if he wants to come to NASCAR, good for him. Give it a try.
.

Answer 5

Thank God that NASCAR is a different sport than the open wheel cars. BORN in the USA you know.

I started out a INDY fan and have been to it 5 times. Loved every one in the 70s and 80s.

Loved Mario then but I think AJ Foyt would get my vote for best all around ever.

the thing that concerns me is a bunch of foreign drivers with big buck foreign interests comming in to NASCAR and ahve drivers with names that end in vowels winning every week.
It ruined IRL in my eyyes. by the way IRL split from CART to be a less expensive more level playing field but the foreign interests still took over.

I like the fact boys from the good ole USA are winning NASCAR events.

Sorry about the rant

PEACE and bring our boys home.

Answer 6

JV was a decent driver in Cart and F1. If someone wants to give him a shot that's okay. If he is slow in testing he won't get a shot to race. If he shows something in testing they will give him a shot in the truck series. If he does well there he may move on up.

It is not as if someone offered him a Nextel cup ride no questions asked. he has the opportunity to prove if he has something left in the tank, pun intended. I think his history earns him at least a test, anything more than a test he will have to earn now.

While in CART he was certainly good enough to beat Robby Gordon who is apparently still good enough for Nascar.

Answer 7

I just hope that we don't hear about him as much as we do Montoya *roll eyes* . They make it like he a racing God or something and he hasn't proven anything to me ,He's won 2 road course's (Busch & Cup). He wouldn't of won the first but he spun out his own team AFTER being told by his car owner to not do it. He won the Cup rc just because he is accustomed to racing on rc's from his F1 day's .

I feel that the one reason that all these Indy driver's (CART,IRL,F1...) are coming to Nascar is because they know that Nascar is the most popular and has the largest fan base.

Answer 8

Donna is a great example of why most of the race community looks down on nascar fans, one reason why i name Mario Andretti as the greatest of all time is because he switched series and had success every where he went, i give petty his dues as the greatest stock car driver ever, i give Michale schumacher his dues as greatest grand prix driver ever with his most championships most wins and most poles, i give john force his dues as a 14 time nhra funny champion, but mario won daytona, won indy, won sprint cars won iroc, led lemans untill his car broke, f1 champion indy car champion, and the list goes on, so no i have no problem with villeneuve coming over to nascar, i hope he has success, not so sure he will, but that's true history if he does, as with montoya, the big problem have is nascar drivers not moving on to other series, is it cause they cant? i don't know, i hope tony stewart eventually moves on to something else, how about tony jeff gordon and maybe dale jr as a driver team at le mans that would be something, but this whole " he don no nutin bout Oval racin" give me a break, if you can make one lap around monoco with out crashing you can run talladega and if you can make it through the first chicane at monza, you can run at bristol,

Answer 9

Like I said before, another F-1(cart) Driver coming over to a series that they know nothing about.
He has not been on a OVAL since 1995. Between him and Mathews#22 truck driver, I wish he would keep MATHEWS, but if Villeneuve's comes to the trucks with Bill Davis Racing that will be the truck he will be driving, Bill Davis's other Drivers are Mike Skinner # 5. and last race winner(Bristol) Johnny Benson # 23.****** whats my problem, I dont have a problem with good drivers coming over here, but I do have a problem with drivers who have not been OVAL racing since 1995 coming over and racing my brother's team. How would you feel if it was your brother.***** besides your the one who called him a HAS-BEEN, NOT ME

Answer 10

That's the beauty of this sport fans think they know more than the drivers.This post has some good facts and intresting facts but testing a truck is not quailifing for the Daytona 500.
This post is better suited for the F1 section.
Hope you enjoyed listening to yourself while writing.