Q and A with Mattias Ekstrom

Two-time DTM champion Mattias Ekstrom is making his oval debut this weekend at Richmond International Raceway in what will be just his second outing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series.

While others before him have taken their first steps in stock car racing at lower levels, including Juan Pablo Montoya, the 32-year-old Swede has taken the bull by the horns and will race Saturday at the 0.75-mile oval in the final race before the Chase for the Cup kicks off.

AUTOSPORT spoke to the two-time winner of the Race of Champions ahead of his second NASCAR race.

Q. Why are you going straight into the Sprint Cup and not trying at a lower level before, like others have done in the past?

Mattias Ekstrom: I think it doesn't really matter wherever you start, if you start in Cup or Nationwide. Sure, if you start lower you have less competition but there's good guys at every level in any NASCAR series. I mean, look at Kyle Busch, he's driving in all of them and besides, Red Bull only has a team in Cup. I had to do this with Red Bull because I've been an athlete for them for many years and that's about how it was.

Q. So you think it's easier to make the transition from DTM to NASCAR than from an open-wheel car?

ME: For me I think it's easier to adapt to NASCAR because I've been used to touring cars. Open-wheel cars have never been my cup of tea and I've never been good at it, so for sure I'm better off trying to do this than maybe going to IndyCars, that's for sure.

Q. What moved you to do this for a second time?

ME: What I like the most is the racing. You have many competitive cars and many competitive teams and DTM is also competitive but you have only 20 cars and then you have to drive with a lot of respect for your team-mates. Here there's 43 cars and you've got to be good because if not, you're going to be way down. The competition is what really attracts me and I really enjoy that.

Q. Are you seriously considering a future in NASCAR? Are more races in the cards this year?

ME: I came here and did the race at Sonoma and said afterwards that I'd like to do an oval. What happens in the future nobody knows, but one thing is for sure, I will try to collect all the experience I can this weekend and I will do the best job I can and then we will see what happens. At the moment I have a contract with Audi which I'm happy for and I really enjoy the DTM and there are some races to go this year, but I decided I wanted to try this.

Q. You've spent some time with Montoya in your NASCAR visits. Is he trying to sell you into making the move full time?

ME: I don't call him Juan, but Sean. I liked his style when he was doing F1 and I've spent some time with him. He's a nice guy and very competitive. He's been giving me all the info, what I should think of, all the pros and cons. I appreciate all the help I got from him because without that I would be struggling a lot more. I also got some help from Jimmie Johnson and you need to have some friends in this world when you come as a rookie in order to survive. I think what is really important is to do this with a lot of passion.

Q. With four races remaining in the DTM and ranking fifth in points, what's your outlook on the rest of the season?

ME: The championship is out of my hands now and I can't win it by my own performance, it would have to be the others doing something bad. I'm going there to enjoy every race, to try to win more races and what happens with the championship I can't really control anyway. We will see.

Pep accepts Gunners decisionEkstrom open-minded for Sears Point

Ekstrom to make oval debut

Two-time DTM champion Mattias Ekstrom will make his oval debut in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series next weekend at Richmond, Red Bull Racing Team has announced.

The Swede will pilot the #83 Red Bull Toyota for a second time this year, having made his NASCAR debut in June. Ekstrom drove in the first road course event of the season at Infineon Raceway, where he finished 21st after starting 38th, leading the race for seven laps.

After racing in the DTM last weekend at Brands Hatch, the 32-year-old tested for Red Bull on an oval for the first time on Tuesday at the North Wilkesboro Speedway, a 0.625 oval in North Carolina, where he successfully completed his preparation to compete next Saturday in the final race of the regular season at the 0.75-mile Richmond International Raceway.

"To do a race on an oval is something different - it's a lot of laps and a lot of cars," said Ekstrom. "Racing in Richmond will be one of the biggest tasks of my life so far, but I feel I am ready for the challenge."

Ekstrom replaces Reed Sorenson, who has driven the #83 car for eighth of the past nine races. Brian Vickers started his fourth year at the wheel of the leading Red Bull entry but he has been sidelined from racing since May after being diagnosed with blood clots. Casey Mears, Boris Said and Ekstrom, have also driven the car this year.

"Mattias did a great job in Sonoma, and continues to impress at the oval track testing sessions," said Red Bull Racing Team's Jay Frye. "He has earned this opportunity, showing continued improvement every time he is behind the wheel."

Ekstrom is expected to be back behind the wheel of his DTM Audi A4 next week, when the series competes at Oschersleben. With four events remaining, he ranks fifth in the DTM standings.

Ekstrom to make oval debutHenrique returns to Racing

Ekstrom to make oval debut

Two-time DTM champion Mattias Ekstrom will make his oval debut in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series next weekend at Richmond, Red Bull Racing Team has announced.

The Swede will pilot the #83 Red Bull Toyota for a second time this year, having made his NASCAR debut in June. Ekstrom drove in the first road course event of the season at Infineon Raceway, where he finished 21st after starting 38th, leading the race for seven laps.

After racing in the DTM last weekend at Brands Hatch, the 32-year-old tested for Red Bull on an oval for the first time on Tuesday at the North Wilkesboro Speedway, a 0.625 oval in North Carolina, where he successfully completed his preparation to compete next Saturday in the final race of the regular season at the 0.75-mile Richmond International Raceway.

"To do a race on an oval is something different - it's a lot of laps and a lot of cars," said Ekstrom. "Racing in Richmond will be one of the biggest tasks of my life so far, but I feel I am ready for the challenge."

Ekstrom replaces Reed Sorenson, who has driven the #83 car for eighth of the past nine races. Brian Vickers started his fourth year at the wheel of the leading Red Bull entry but he has been sidelined from racing since May after being diagnosed with blood clots. Casey Mears, Boris Said and Ekstrom, have also driven the car this year.

"Mattias did a great job in Sonoma, and continues to impress at the oval track testing sessions," said Red Bull Racing Team's Jay Frye. "He has earned this opportunity, showing continued improvement every time he is behind the wheel."

Ekstrom is expected to be back behind the wheel of his DTM Audi A4 next week, when the series competes at Oschersleben. With four events remaining, he ranks fifth in the DTM standings.

Ekstrom to make oval debutHenrique returns to Racing

Ekstrom to make oval debut

Two-time DTM champion Mattias Ekstrom will make his oval debut in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series next weekend at Richmond, Red Bull Racing Team has announced.

The Swede will pilot the #83 Red Bull Toyota for a second time this year, having made his NASCAR debut in June. Ekstrom drove in the first road course event of the season at Infineon Raceway, where he finished 21st after starting 38th, leading the race for seven laps.

After racing in the DTM last weekend at Brands Hatch, the 32-year-old tested for Red Bull on an oval for the first time on Tuesday at the North Wilkesboro Speedway, a 0.625 oval in North Carolina, where he successfully completed his preparation to compete next Saturday in the final race of the regular season at the 0.75-mile Richmond International Raceway.

"To do a race on an oval is something different - it's a lot of laps and a lot of cars," said Ekstrom. "Racing in Richmond will be one of the biggest tasks of my life so far, but I feel I am ready for the challenge."

Ekstrom replaces Reed Sorenson, who has driven the #83 car for eighth of the past nine races. Brian Vickers started his fourth year at the wheel of the leading Red Bull entry but he has been sidelined from racing since May after being diagnosed with blood clots. Casey Mears, Boris Said and Ekstrom, have also driven the car this year.

"Mattias did a great job in Sonoma, and continues to impress at the oval track testing sessions," said Red Bull Racing Team's Jay Frye. "He has earned this opportunity, showing continued improvement every time he is behind the wheel."

Ekstrom is expected to be back behind the wheel of his DTM Audi A4 next week, when the series competes at Oschersleben. With four events remaining, he ranks fifth in the DTM standings.

Henrique returns to RacingEkstrom open-minded for Sears Point

Villeneuve: Montreal win is possible

Jacques Villeneuve hopes to finally claim his maiden NASCAR victory this weekend, when he competes for the third time in Montreal in the Nationwide Series.

The Quebecois has led laps in all his previous outings at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, where he claimed a fourth place finish last year, his best result to date in NASCAR.

Having competed in two Nationwide series races this season already at Elkhart Lake and Watkins Glen, Villeneuve arrives better prepared than ever and expects that to place him closer to his aim of winning for the first time in NASCAR.

"We are coming in aggressively," said Villeneuve. "It's the third year I raced with the Braun team, and with the [sponsor] Dollar [General] car, it's been five races. So we are starting to work well together and we have really worked hard on the road course programme car-wise, and we also are bringing different brakes for Montreal.

"It's a very demanding track, and I'm a late braker. I'm a heavy braker and which is where I make most of my time at Elkhart Lake, and even at the Glen, actually.

"So we are pulling out all the stops for Montreal so we can compete. The first year when it was the heavy rain, we led the lap and then I crashed under a caution. That was a little bit annoying. And we were quite competitive last year. So I think we are coming this year to try and win it."

Last month Villeneuve said at Indianapolis, where he competed in the Sprint Cup Series' Brickyard 400, that he still sees a future for him in NASCAR. Although his few outings in oval races have not yielded much success, he still believes that he can consolidate his career if given the right opportunity.

Although a number of drivers have struggled in making the transition from open-wheel to stock cars in the last few years, he reckons Juan Pablo Montoya has proved that the switch can be successfully achieved.

The Colombian, who left Formula 1 to race full-time in NASCAR since 2007, was part of the championship play-off in the Sprint Cup series last year, and this season has been a regular frontrunner on all kinds of tracks.

"There's always been this perception that oval racers can't drive a road course and a road course driver can't race on ovals," said Villeneuve. "Now if you look at Montoya, he's doing amazingly well on ovals, and he has won the Indy 500, as well, and typical NASCAR drivers that don't come from a road racing background learn very quickly what they need to do on a road course and actually do them very well.

"If you're talented and if you've got the brains to go with it to actually learn your craft, then you'll be good at any form of driving."

To date only Mario Andretti has been able to win the F1 world championship, the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR's premier event, the Daytona 500. Although Villeneuve is not aiming as high in NASCAR yet, he hopes to join Andretti in winning a race in one of NASCAR's national series.

He also came close to add a 24 Hours of Le Mans victory to his tally of major wins, finishing second with Peugeot in 2008.

"I've won at two of the three major events I've been in, which was the Indy 500 and the F1 championship," said Villeneuve. "Sadly at the Le Mans 24 Hours, we finished second, when we led most of the race and that was a little bit frustrating. So the other thing that would be amazing is to win NASCAR, that would be incredible."

Following Sunday's race Villeneuve plans to compete in the Australian Supercar V8 event in Surfers Paradise in October, although a further oval race in NASCAR could be in the cards before that if he is able to win next weekend in Montreal.

Villeneuve eighth at Watkins GlenVillarreal swoop for Marchena

Vickers confident of 2011 return

Brian Vickers believes he will be ready to return to racing in 2011 after undergoing successful heart surgery, and expects to finish his blood clot treatment in early January.

The Red Bull driver spoke to reporters on Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway to give an update on his medical condition and was optimistic about his return to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series next season. The 26-year-old said doctors have already given him full clearance to compete again in '11, although he is still on blood thinners and will remain using the medication until next year.

Vickers was diagnosed with blood clots in May and his treatment forced him to stop racing immediately. He revealed that since then he underwent surgery last month as another blood clot was found on a finger in his left hand. The clot went through his heart and Vickers said he was lucky that it did not go to his brain, although he would need to undergo heart surgery, which took place on July 12, in any case.

Additionally he said he was diagnosed with the May-Thurner syndrome, a rare condition that leads to the formation of blood clots due to compression of the vessels in the leg. He also revealed that he had a stent inserted on a vein on his left leg a day after his heart surgery. He said that both procedures were successful, although the decision to go through them was not a straightforward one.

"[The doctors] gave me full clearance for next year," Vickers said. "I will be back next season, racing in January. I'm really excited about that. They feel that I'm probably in the best shape I've ever been in my life. I've got two issues that I never knew about, fixed.

"Both surgeries went extremely well and it's been a bit of fresh air for me to know what caused this, or part of what caused this. It wasn't one thing. But to get this behind me, it was a big question mark that was still out there."

Despite initially trying to keep close to his outfit and attending races, Vickers recently has distanced himself from the track. He has taken time to attend events where Red Bull is involved such as the Canadian Formula 1 Grand Prix and the Red Bull Air Race in New York.

Vickers said he has been training hard physically following his heart surgery, including doing some cycling at altitude and swimming. He claims he is currently in great shape and expects to see the benefits of his hard work when he returns to racing next year.

"I was in Aspen, biking with some friends, doing 40, 50, 60-mile rides through the mountains at 10,000 feet," said Vickers. "I feel good. I'm probably going to be in the best shape of my life when I get back to racing. I'm training every day and love it."

"What I love to do is race. It's not only my job, but it's my passion. I definitely have been missing that need for speed, the competition. But at the same time, it's nice to take a break. I just miss being in the car. I miss doing 200mph, banging fenders with the guys I love and hate. I've missed it all."

Two weeks ago Red Bull Racing Team announced Kasey Kahne will be driving one of its cars in 2011, but the full driver line-up of the squad has yet to be revealed as Vickers and Scott Speed are both candidates to drive alongside Kahne next year.

Henrique returns to RacingKahne to drive for Red Bull in 2011

Johnson: Harvick favourite for Chase

Reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson believes points leader Kevin Harvick is the favourite heading into this year's championship play-off.

Harvick currently holds a 293-point lead in the drivers' standings, only three races before the Chase kicks off, following his third win of the season last weekend at Michigan, which was his first victory in a non-restrictor plate event since 2006.

The Richard Childress Racing driver has also claimed victories at Talladega and Daytona earlier this year, but despite those wins he will probably start the Chase behind Johnson and Denny Hamlin, given that both of his rivals have claimed five victories and thus 50 bonus points, relative to the 30 that Harvick currently holds, with another 30 up for grabs in the next three races before points totals get reset.

Even under the current situation heading into the play-off, Johnson believes his rival has shown enough speed and consistency through the regular season that he should be tagged as the favourite to take over the series' crown this year.

"I do think that those guys should be considered the favourites," said Johnson. "If you look at their success on all types of track, the #29 is doing a great job collecting a lot of points everywhere we go. I know for a lot of people the win at Michigan solidified things for them, but to us in the garage area and watching the points total it's all about collecting points, you don't have to win a race in the Chase to be the champion.

"They're on fire right now; they're doing a great job. In racing with Kevin over the years and being around him, I've always known that this is the most important thing to him. I think a lot of us were shocked to see the last few years, the way things have been for them.

"You don't win a Busch/Nationwide championship by accident; you don't win the big races that he's won by accident. He has the talent, the team does and they have it all on the line right now and they're doing a great job. We're definitely working hard to catch those guys."

Johnson's Hendrick Motorsports team-mate Jeff Gordon also believes Harvick to be the man to beat entering this year's Chase. He says his victory last week at Michigan really shows what Harvick and his team are capable of on the fast intermediate tracks that prevail during the final ten weeks of the season.

"As far as who has momentum and seems to be the strongest in my opinion right now, I would definitely say the #29 [Kevin Harvick]," said Gordon. "I think especially that win last week - restrictor plate wins are one thing but to go and win at Michigan when those big fast tracks like that are tracks that you're going to have to be competitive at in the Chase, plus the bonus points they have and the fact that they've been consistent.

"I think that Childress has really stepped it up, especially with Kevin and that #29 team. I think that last weekend they kind of solidified themselves as the favourite in my opinion."

Despite the comments from both four-time champions, Harvick still considers Johnson as the man to beat and refuses to get carried away with the expectations placed upon him. He believes the current situation for the reigning champion resembles that of previous seasons where he has gone on to up the ante in the final 10 races to claim four consecutive titles.

"I still think the #48 [Johnson] team is the team to beat," said Harvick. "No matter how good somebody runs, I still think that those guys are the ones to beat just for the fact that they have won it the last four years being in a somewhat similar situation. I'd like to just leave it all over there and let us keep doing what we are doing.

"Obviously, we've run well and we feel like we can contend for a championship. But contending and winning are two different things and I think we've shown we can win races and have shown that we can run good. But, I still think until somebody completes the deal and knocks them off, they have to be the ones you have to beat just because they have done it four times."

Only once during the last four years has Johnson won more races than this season before the Chase, although he still has three races to match the six victories he claimed during the first 26 races in 2007. In 2006 Harvick won twice before the Chase and then took three wins in the final 10 races, but an engine failure at Dover hampered his chances of seriously contending for the title in the season finale.

Bud to sponsor Harvick from 2011Iniesta - Cesc will stay