NASCAR.com’s Dave Rodman had a fine conversation with former Formula 1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve and Penske Racing Nationwide Series crew chief Todd Gordon in New Hampshire.
While Villeneuve’s next outing in the No. 22 Dodge will only come in Montreal in August, he made the trip to Loudon to surprise the Penske team.
"It was good to see the guys again -- since Elkhart Lake -- and to chat a bit, to see what we could do different for Montreal. We were good at Elkhart and we want to be even better in Montreal,” Villeneuve told Rodman.
"At Elkhart, our car was the best under braking and the brakes survived the race, so that was good. We were good in the slow-speed corners -- that's where I was gaining most of my time -- so I think our basic setup is quite all right for Montreal."
With plenty of future racing opportunities on the line, Villeneuve spent considerable time shaking hands and reacquainting himself with many in NASCAR. Not only does he not have a ride for next month's first road course event at Watkins Glen, he's also uncertain what 2012 might bring.
"There's nothing definite," Villeneuve indicated. "It's the same -- we're just carrying on and all I can hope is the good races get good TV coverage when we do the road courses [and] the sponsors are very happy so that at some point it will inflate into a proper, all-year-round ride.
"The Cup drivers are [at Watkins Glen], so there are not really any seats available in Nationwide. A second car still needs budget and they've got to race every weekend. To build an extra car -- because I wouldn't want to go in a bad car, either -- so to build a second car that's on par with the main car is a lot of work. So they need to look at it seriously if the team is going to do that. It's a lot of work, and obviously it needs the budget."
While Villeneuve’s next outing in the No. 22 Dodge will only come in Montreal in August, he made the trip to Loudon to surprise the Penske team.
"It was good to see the guys again -- since Elkhart Lake -- and to chat a bit, to see what we could do different for Montreal. We were good at Elkhart and we want to be even better in Montreal,” Villeneuve told Rodman.
 |
| Jacques Villeneuve, Dodge Penske (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR) |
"At Elkhart, our car was the best under braking and the brakes survived the race, so that was good. We were good in the slow-speed corners -- that's where I was gaining most of my time -- so I think our basic setup is quite all right for Montreal."
With plenty of future racing opportunities on the line, Villeneuve spent considerable time shaking hands and reacquainting himself with many in NASCAR. Not only does he not have a ride for next month's first road course event at Watkins Glen, he's also uncertain what 2012 might bring.
"There's nothing definite," Villeneuve indicated. "It's the same -- we're just carrying on and all I can hope is the good races get good TV coverage when we do the road courses [and] the sponsors are very happy so that at some point it will inflate into a proper, all-year-round ride.
"The Cup drivers are [at Watkins Glen], so there are not really any seats available in Nationwide. A second car still needs budget and they've got to race every weekend. To build an extra car -- because I wouldn't want to go in a bad car, either -- so to build a second car that's on par with the main car is a lot of work. So they need to look at it seriously if the team is going to do that. It's a lot of work, and obviously it needs the budget."