Jacques Villeneuve's transition from open-wheel racer to NASCAR driver continued with a second outing in a Bill Davis Racing-prepared machine at Kentucky Speedway late last week, the Canadian this time trying the Toyota Camry Car of Tomorrow in preparation for his stockcar debut later this season.
As he had on an earlier Craftsman Truck test, the 1997
F1 world champion ended the day well ahead of expectation, completing 162 laps in physically challenging circumstances at the 1.5-mile tri-oval.
Crew chief Richard ‘Slugger' Labbe had expected that it would take the entire morning for his driver to acclimatise to the car, which was introduced to NASCAR's Cup Series this year, but was again surprised at the 36-year old's rate of progress, Villeneuve taking just three laps to adjust to the CoT and moving quickly onto set-up changes.
“Jacques has again delivered more than we expected, on and off the track," Labbe commented, "He has real car control, and it just goes to show you that, if there's a good racecar driver out there, it won't take him long to adapt.”
With cockpit temperatures nudging 82°C, Villeneuve admitted to finding conditions challenging, but it was the stability of the car itself that brought the biggest challenge.
“The car feels very different to the truck that I tested before," he revealed, "Downforce levels are much lower [than with the truck] and there are fewer options that we can change with the car, but the future is all about the CoT, so it is just a question of getting used to the feeling.”
Villeneuve now moves on to Talladega Superspeedway, where he will spend two days lapping the famous 2.66-mile tri-oval where Cup cars reach top speeds of 215mph, and average lap speeds near 190mph. The test will be Villeneuve's first outing alongside other Cup regulars, and is likely to be a key step in his NASCAR programme.
