Jacques Villeneuve – Unicef Tundra
Post Race Report
Race: Silverado 350K
Track: Texas Motor Speedway
Date: Friday, Nov. 2, 2007
Started: 16th
Finished: 25th
Laps Completed: 141
Total Laps: 149
After scoring his career best NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series finish last weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Jacques Villeneuve and his No. 27 UNICEF team hoped to better that mark this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, a similar track to Atlanta.
Prior to this weekend, Villeneuve had never visited the Texas track. He took it easy throughout the first practice session Thursday morning in an effort to adapt to the racetrack. He picked up the pace during the rookie practice and final practice sessions, and the No. 27 team had its Tundra running well.
Like his past NCTS starts, Villeneuve was one of the first drivers to qualify. He did all he could to muster a good qualifying lap. His lap of 29.636 seconds was good enough for the 16th position on the starting grid for Friday night's race.
After the green flag waved to start the race, Villeneuve immediately let crew chief Doug Wolcott know that the handling of his UNICEF Tundra was tight. He fought his truck through the first 10 laps of the race before coming to pit road under caution. The crew pulled tape from the grille of the No. 27 Tundra, in addition to changing the rear tire pressure, before sending Villeneuve back onto the track.
Within a few laps, Villeneuve let his crew know that his truck was improving. He maintained his position well before reporting to the pits again under caution on lap 40. The crew made a wedge adjustment during the four-tire stop, and Villeneuve restarted 18th on lap 44.
Just when it appeared Villeneuve was on the move to the front, he felt something unusual and drove to the attention of his crew. The unusual feeling was the result of a flat tire, which the crew quickly changed. Villeneuve lost one lap to the leader because of the unscheduled green flag pit stop.
Things just got worse for Villeneuve. His Tundra grew tighter by the lap. He was forced to keep pitting throughout the next 100 laps for adjustments, as he could no longer handle his ill-fighting truck. He finished the race in the 25th position, six laps behind the race winner.
Villeneuve join the rest of the Craftsman Truck Series drivers this weekend at Phoenix International Raceway. He will also attempt to qualify for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race this weekend.
From Amanda Smith Mathis / Bill Davis Racing
