Goin' Truckin'

Little more than a year after he was ejected from Formula One, Jacque Villeneuve appears to have found his new home – NASCAR. There he will join a familiar face with Juan Montoya.

Those that have seen him test the Craftsman Truck claim that he has done impressive as he begins his steep learning curve with the hope of been on the Sprint Cup circuit next year for Bill Davis Racing. His capture for some will say that NASCAR is now able to attract big name drivers. The likes of Dario Franchitti and Sam Hornish Junior have also been linked with moves to stock cars from the Indy Racing League. But those with the sharper eye will see that NASCAR is only receiving these drivers who are, let’s be fair, and are in the twilight of their career. An article that really hit me on this was by David Caraviello, one of the man good journalists on NASCAR.com (ITV Sport should take note on how these writers are able to stay unbiast). ‘They’ll come to NASCAR, but only as a final option’ is a great read on the topic if you get the time.

JV’s move conjures memories of his time in F1. Many claim him to be a great success, a driver with real balls. Sure he had his moments but I don’t agree with the assessment that many treat with him. When he entered F1 in 1996 he arrived in the best car. There were no challengers outside of his team-mate Damon Hill and the pair duly fought it out for the title. In 1997 again Villeneuve had the car advantage and like any good driver, took it and secured his world title.

But what about after that? When he found himself in a sub-standard Williams he was banished from the top step of the podium. A foolhardy move to BAR saw him wallow in midfield for the rest of days, the spark many claimed he brought seemingly extinguished. His career achievements were all but complete after 1997. His final race win was at the Nurburgring in 1997, his final podium in 2001 before been first ousted in 2003 before a brief fling return from late-2004 till mid-2006.

For a driver much heralded his lasting mark on the sport is similar to NASCAR refugee Juan Montoya - in fits and spurts where his ability to make a few overtaking moves overshadowed a career wrought with failing to live up to his full potential. How he will fair in NASCAR will be interesting to watch, especially how the sport takes to him.

The Next US Import

Come next season we will see a new face on the grid in the guise of Frenchman Sébastien Bourdais. For those of you not familiar with Bourdais a small refresher course. A former F3000 (now GP2) champion, he failed to find a contract in Formula One despite testing for Renault. Like Montoya before him, he made the jump to Champ Car where he has been extremely successful. Three titles already with a fourth on its way he has been the class of the field in recent years over in the States.

Bourdais will be an interesting one to watch. He's a long time out of the hot seat in terms of European competition. That been said, he's doing alright at the tests he ran with for Toro Rosso.

People will point to history been against him. Zanardi flopped. Da Matta wasn't much better and Montoya, despite winning races never delivered to the full expectation. Villeneuve was the last successful US racing export in recent times.

An advantage for Bourdais is that these days, Champ Car is all about road courses. None of that oval stuff that the others had a mix of in their experience.

Of course a point in his favour people will point out 'Hey, he's been the most successful Champ Car driver of recent times so he should do well.' We must remember that compared to the past, it's a substandard competition, so he shows up more. In recent years there has been a migration of the top drivers and teams to IRL leaving nothing more than a carcass of a series that was once top-notch. US racers make up the minority in the league and drivers with pre-dominantly European pedigree fill the ranks.

Will he, won't he. I think he has more of a chance than those who have tried recently. If Toro Rosso give him a decent platform to work with then he could buck the trend.

Heidfeld Struts His Stuff

Finally Heidfeld has a car that can showcase his talents.

For most the first time they will start rating the German will be this year, after a trio of fourth places. Those with a long term interest in the sport will know that this rise to the front of the grid has been a long time coming for Nick. A former McLaren protege, who battled with Juan Montoya for the F3000 (now GP2) title, he had a strong of middle to low end seats that saw his talent wasted.

The closest Heidfeld came to a front line drive was in his first stint at the Sauber team, when he was overlooked for Mika Hakkinen's vacant McLaren seat for his Sauber team-mate Kimi Raikkonen. While Kimi would go on to challenge for the wins and championships over the next few years, Heidfeld became a nomad, driving for Prost, Sauber, Jordan before moving to Williams and showing up his over hyped team-mate Mark Webber.

His performances and BMW's desire to have a German driver in their outfit saw Nick move back to the Sauber bought outfit. This move has seen Heidfeld finally show his true worth with out driving former world champion Villeneuve on many occasion. The arrival of quick rookie Kubica has seen Heidfeld raise his game this year to beat off the upstart with confident performances this year, including a stunning move on champion Alonso at Bahrain.

With his contract up at the end of the year Toyota are said to be sniffing about. A move I think would be bad for Heidfeld given the sleeping Japanese giant's lack of success since they have come in. BMW's insistence on waiting till the end of the year could force Nick's hand, especially with youngster Vettel vying for his seat. The example made of Villeneuve last year will still be in his mind. To drop Nick would be a bad move on the part of BMW. Kubica has shown he still has alot to learn about Formula One and to lose someone of Nick's experience and race craft would be a sad loss for a team aspiring to take on Ferrari and McLaren as the season goes on and afterwards.