KIDWCKED
07-24-2010, 11:52 PM
c/p from nascar.com by David Caraviello.
INDIANAPOLIS -- Jacques Villeneuve stood in the broiler that was the concrete of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway garage area Saturday afternoon, his arms crossed, shifting from one foot to another. Media surrounded the former Indianapolis 500 champion, but no one asked a question -- not yet.
Villeneuve's past heroics at Indianapolis were no help to him, not on a day when he had to qualify on time just like any other NASCAR driver outside the top 35 in Cup owner points entering this Brickyard 400. As fate would have it, the event's final qualifying spot came down to two men for whom Indianapolis is very much a part of their being -- Villeneuve, who scored a victory here in 1995 that vaulted him toward Formula One, and J.J. Yeley, the 2003 U.S. Auto Club triple crown champion who made a handful of IndyCar starts before moving into NASCAR.
Villeneuve was the 45th of 48 drivers trying to qualify for the race, which paid $142,000 for last place last season. The Quebec native turned a lap of 177.466 mph in his No. 32 car, owned by Indiana native Todd Braun, then parked it in the garage, pulled off his helmet and HANS device, and waited. His speed was good enough to give him a chance at his first Cup start since Phoenix in 2007. But it was going to be close.
"Very stressful," he termed the experience, "because we didn't get a lot of laps in [Friday]. It's a new car. ... It was fast, but it was the first time I'd come here after not being in a Cup car for two years, so it was a little bit stressful for qualifying."
INDIANAPOLIS -- Jacques Villeneuve stood in the broiler that was the concrete of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway garage area Saturday afternoon, his arms crossed, shifting from one foot to another. Media surrounded the former Indianapolis 500 champion, but no one asked a question -- not yet.
Villeneuve's past heroics at Indianapolis were no help to him, not on a day when he had to qualify on time just like any other NASCAR driver outside the top 35 in Cup owner points entering this Brickyard 400. As fate would have it, the event's final qualifying spot came down to two men for whom Indianapolis is very much a part of their being -- Villeneuve, who scored a victory here in 1995 that vaulted him toward Formula One, and J.J. Yeley, the 2003 U.S. Auto Club triple crown champion who made a handful of IndyCar starts before moving into NASCAR.
Villeneuve was the 45th of 48 drivers trying to qualify for the race, which paid $142,000 for last place last season. The Quebec native turned a lap of 177.466 mph in his No. 32 car, owned by Indiana native Todd Braun, then parked it in the garage, pulled off his helmet and HANS device, and waited. His speed was good enough to give him a chance at his first Cup start since Phoenix in 2007. But it was going to be close.
"Very stressful," he termed the experience, "because we didn't get a lot of laps in [Friday]. It's a new car. ... It was fast, but it was the first time I'd come here after not being in a Cup car for two years, so it was a little bit stressful for qualifying."