During 1994 and 1995 CART seasons, Jacques Villeneuve has been Roger Penske's worst nightmare. However, after 15+ years, time has come for the French-Canadian champion to join Penske Racing for the 2 upcoming road course races on the 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) schedule at Road America and Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.Penske Racing announced that Villeneuve will drive the No. 22 Discount Tire/Ruby Tuesday Dodge Challenger in the Nationwide Series races at Road America and Montreal aiming to repeat his 2010 success when he was driving for Braun Motorsports. Villeneuve will actually fill in for reigning Nationwide Series champion, Brad Keselowski, as both nationwide events are run on non-companion race weekends with the NASCAR Cup Series.
Villeneuve, who recently tested with the team at Road Atlanta commented:
"I am really looking forward to joining Penske Racing and getting the chance to race at two of my favorite tracks with the series championship team. I am excited to work with the Discount Tire/Ruby Tuesday Dodge crew and we should be very competitive in both of these events."
Tim Cindric, President of Penske Racing commented:
"It's great to be able bring aboard a driver like Jacques, who has raced and won at the highest levels of motorsports. Jacques has run well at both of these tracks before and he'll be a good fit on the No. 22 Discount Tire/Ruby Tuesday team."
Villeneuve has made eight NASCAR starts over the past four seasons, including five in the Nationwide Series. His top NASCAR result came last season when he finished third at Montreal. Competing at both Road America and Montreal, Villeneuve will return to two tracks where he's enjoyed some impressive history. He has already been to Victory Lane at Road America as he won the CART Series races there in both 1994 and 1995. He will then race in his hometown of Montreal, at the circuit named after his father, Gilles Villeneuve.
Joining Penske Racing, undoubtedly its a step forward for Villeneuve's hard-built NASCAR career but the French-Canadian joins a team that certainly has experienced lot of success recording six wins, five poles and a remarkable 32 top-five finishes in just 47 races.
