Sunday, July 19, 2009

Villeneuve to race at Montreal again

Villeneuve to race at Montreal again

Jacques Villenueve will return to the NASCAR Nationwide Series next month to compete in Montreal's round of the series for the second year in a row.

The former Formula 1 world champion will return to NASCAR's second-tier series for a one-off appearance at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, where he is set to drive the #32 Braun Racing Toyota Camry.

Villeneuve last competed in NASCAR in last year's rain-affected event at his home track, where he was classified 16th. He started fifth and actually led the race for a lap before crashing into the back of another car due to the poor conditions, shortly before the race was stopped.

"I am very happy to return to the track this year in Montreal with Braun Racing," said Villeneuve. "I enjoyed greatly my experience last year and their trust is greatly appreciated. It is also a team that prepares great cars. I am confident the #32 will be at least as good as the car the team prepared for me last, which is exciting.

"But what makes me even more happy is the fact that this time around, I'm part of the equation from a much earlier stage. Together we will be able to better prepare for the end of August race and it should have a good influence on our results."

The Quebecoise, who recently admitted his interest in returning to F1, competed last weekend in the Canadian Tire stock car series at a 0.4-mile oval at Saint-Eustache, where he crashed out of the event on the first lap.

Besides his commitments in Canada, Villeneuve is also set to return to the Argentinean Top Race V6 Series, where he will race next weekend at Interlagos. He is also scheduled to compete again in September at Buenos Aires, where he made his first outing in the series last year.

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