(Daytona Beach) At 50, legendary Quebec driver Jacques Villeneuve has just added qualifying for the Daytona 500 to his illustrious racing career.
Posted yesterday at 10:46 p.m.
The former Formula 1 champion and Indianapolis 500 winner managed to qualify his car for the Daytona 500 in NASCAR on Wednesday. When he returned to the pits, he took to running to join his team and celebrate.
Villeneuve quickly found his wife, who he lifted into the air before hugging his mechanics. His Ford car needed three tries to pass the NASCAR circuit inspection and just hours before Wednesday evening qualifying, Villeneuve had given up on his chances.
“I really thought we wouldn’t get there in time, so it’s really a huge surprise,” Villeneuve commented as qualifying continued around him. I was convinced that we didn’t have the necessary speed, but I wasn’t very nervous because I didn’t think we would pass anyway. »
The Quebec driver was not fast enough to deserve a place in front, the only two places in the Daytona 500 granted by virtue of time.
It was Kyle Larson who took the pole, ahead of his teammate at Hendrick Motorsports, Alex Bowman.
For Bowman, it will be the fifth time in his career Sunday that he will start on the front row at the Daytona 500. The Hendrick Motorsports team has taken the pole in seven of the last eight presentations of the event.
The main issue in qualifying was to determine which two teams would earn a spot in the 40-car field among the teams that did not hold a guaranteed spot at NASCAR events each week.
Villeneuve was driving one of six cars vying for one of those spots and he earned his first-ever Daytona 500 outing by beating his five rivals. Noah Gragson, born a year after Villeneuve’s F1 Drivers’ Championship in 1997, secured the second available spot.
The last two places available on the starting line will be granted on Thursday evening.
Last week, Villeneuve admitted that if he failed to qualify at 50, with a brand new team, it could damage his legacy. However, he maintained that the game was worth the effort because in his eyes, the Daytona 500 is among the greatest motor racing events in the world alongside the Indy 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.