1997 F1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve will participate in the Daytona 500 race of the NASCAR Cup Series next month.
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The Daytona 500 is a 500-mile race at the Daytona International Speedway in Florida and is a part of the NASCAR Cup Series. It’s one of the most coveted races in motorsports and carries the largest sum of prize money among all NASCAR races.
In an interview with NASCAR.com, Villeneuve confirmed that he’d join Team Hezeberg to bid for a spot on the Daytona starting grid in February.
The 1995 Indianapolis 500 winner and former @F1 World Champion sets his sights on the #DAYTONA500.
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) January 12, 2022
The Canadian driver previously won the 1995 Indianapolis 500 and the 1997 F1 World Championship. He took part in testing at the Daytona Beach Track earlier this week and announced that he’d try to qualify for the race on 20th February with the Dutch team.
This isn’t the first NASCAR racing experience for Villeneuve, as the 50-year old has been competing in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series since 2019.
“It would be amazing,” the former Williams driver said. “The last time I was in NASCAR in North America was quite a few years. I think it was Sonoma Raceway the last time so it was a lot of years ago.”
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Villeneuve is looking forward to lining up for this iconic NASCAR event
Before lining up on the grid, Villeneuve has to set up a time in Qualifying that deems him eligible for the race. The man from Quebec said he is really looking forward to his outing in Florida, calling it a ‘special race’, which is very hard to get into.
“It is a very special race to participate in, and it’s hard to get into show when you have to qualify on time or in the duels.” he said.
3rd Run of the day starts now! 🔥🔥 @RBR_Teams @27villeneuve #NEXTGen pic.twitter.com/DELvOy3gsS
— Team Hezeberg (@TeamHezeberg) January 12, 2022
“So it makes it a bit more stressful, and making the show would already be something special.”
Team Hezeberg was founded by former racing driver Toine Hezemans and Dutch businessman Ernst Berg and Reaume Brother Racing in 2021. They mainly plan to focus on competing in road course races for 2022.
“It’s a small team and there’s still a long way to go,” said Villeneuve. “Right now we’re focusing on Daytona and hopefully we’ll do more races.”
Also read: Former world champion reveals how he dealt with pressure in F1
