It is not really a big surprise to hear that former Formula 1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve is delighted to become a member of the Penske Racing family. Auto123.com talked with Villeneuve about his promotion to one of the best teams in the business.
Tuesday, the news came out that Villeneuve, the 1995 Indy 500 winner was to contest two road races of the NASCAR Nationwide series as a driver of the Penske team (Road America on June 25 and Montreal on August 20), driving on both occasions the No. 22 Dodge Avenger normally driven by Brad Keselowski.
“I am very, very happy to enter the Penske team. I have known Roger Penske since my days in the CART series,” Villeneuve told Auto123.com on Wednesday.
“I have much respect for him. He’s raced successfully in F1, IndyCar, endurance and NASCAR. He is a real racer. A real connoisseur. He has always respected me. I think he’s made his mind about me when I was racing in the CART series and he has not changed his mind since,” Villeneuve said.
“Yes, Brad (Keselowki) talked about me to the team, and it’s partly because of him that I got the ride. When I tested the car, I had a long discussion with him and Kurt (Busch). These two are not road racers. But the NASCAR guys are really open. It was the kind of conversation you couldn’t have between drivers in Europe. Brad sees me as a big help, almost as a coach. He knows he can gain a lot from what I will tell him,” said Villeneuve.
The former Williams driver talked about his test day at Road Atlanta. “We did one complete day of testing. Since the Nationwide car has changed a lot since last year, it handles completely different. The old set-ups do no longer work. So we are back to square one. It was great to be back at Road Atlanta, the circuit where I won in Formula Atlantic back in 1993. It is a fantastic race track, highly technical. I quickly got back in the groove. It was a good experience to know the guys on the team and to do some set-up work,” Villeneuve added.
Does Villeneuve have hopes that this experience could lead to a full-time drive with Penske Racing?
“Please, one step at the time,” said Villeneuve.
“We did not talk about it. Really, never. Anyway, even if there was an opening for a full-time driver, I still would have to bring sponsorship money, even at Penske Racing. But for these two races, I don’t have to bring any money since Brad’s sponsors are paying for it. But I am extremely happy to be part of the Penske family!”
Tuesday, the news came out that Villeneuve, the 1995 Indy 500 winner was to contest two road races of the NASCAR Nationwide series as a driver of the Penske team (Road America on June 25 and Montreal on August 20), driving on both occasions the No. 22 Dodge Avenger normally driven by Brad Keselowski.
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| Dodge Avenger of Brad Keselowski (Photo: LAT/nascar.com) |
“I am very, very happy to enter the Penske team. I have known Roger Penske since my days in the CART series,” Villeneuve told Auto123.com on Wednesday.
“I have much respect for him. He’s raced successfully in F1, IndyCar, endurance and NASCAR. He is a real racer. A real connoisseur. He has always respected me. I think he’s made his mind about me when I was racing in the CART series and he has not changed his mind since,” Villeneuve said.
“Yes, Brad (Keselowki) talked about me to the team, and it’s partly because of him that I got the ride. When I tested the car, I had a long discussion with him and Kurt (Busch). These two are not road racers. But the NASCAR guys are really open. It was the kind of conversation you couldn’t have between drivers in Europe. Brad sees me as a big help, almost as a coach. He knows he can gain a lot from what I will tell him,” said Villeneuve.
The former Williams driver talked about his test day at Road Atlanta. “We did one complete day of testing. Since the Nationwide car has changed a lot since last year, it handles completely different. The old set-ups do no longer work. So we are back to square one. It was great to be back at Road Atlanta, the circuit where I won in Formula Atlantic back in 1993. It is a fantastic race track, highly technical. I quickly got back in the groove. It was a good experience to know the guys on the team and to do some set-up work,” Villeneuve added.
Does Villeneuve have hopes that this experience could lead to a full-time drive with Penske Racing?
“Please, one step at the time,” said Villeneuve.
“We did not talk about it. Really, never. Anyway, even if there was an opening for a full-time driver, I still would have to bring sponsorship money, even at Penske Racing. But for these two races, I don’t have to bring any money since Brad’s sponsors are paying for it. But I am extremely happy to be part of the Penske family!”