Ex-open-wheelers battle for final Brickyard spot

Yeley's crash in qualifying puts Villeneuve in the Brickyard 400 field

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."

Yeley was supposed to make his qualifying attempt immediately after Villeneuve, but his No. 46 car had trouble getting rolling and he was moved to the bottom of the order. Michael McDowell and Todd Bodine went next, and both drivers posted faster qualifying speeds than Villeneuve and locked themselves into the race. Finally it came down to Villeneuve and Yeley, who finished ninth in the 1998 Indianapolis 500 and eight years later qualified sixth for the Brickyard 400 with Joe Gibbs Racing.

The drama was over before it ever really began. Yeley completed his warm-up lap, went into Turn 1, and fought a vehicle that immediately began fishtailing. The car had been very tight in practice on Friday, so his Whitney Motorsports team loosened it up -- perhaps too much. Yeley went sideways, and the car's back-right then front-right corners slapped the wall. He failed to post a qualifying time, and became one of four drivers -- along with David Gilliland, Casey Mears, and David Stremme -- to miss the second-biggest race of the NASCAR season.

"Typical Indy," Yeley said. "You don't have a lot of room, you come off a corner, and it hit me."

It was the second consecutive DNQ for Yeley, who also missed the race two weeks ago at Chicagoland after finishing a season-best 19th at Daytona. The fact that the Brickyard was one of four races in which his No. 46 car was backed by sponsor Cash America made the qualifying result that much more disappointing.

"I'm coming to a place where I generally like and do very well at, and this is two weeks in a row where my favorite race tracks I don't get to race," Yeley said. "It's part of the game, unfortunately. We had to qualify in, we didn't put down our best lap of qualifying, and we're going home."

Villeneuve got to stay, and make his first start at Indianapolis since the 2006 F1 U.S. Grand Prix. His Brickyard entry was a last-minute decision, spurred by a promising run in the Nationwide Series road course event at Elkhart Lake, Wis., last month. Braun Racing built a new car, and sponsor Dollar General jumped on board. Villeneuve hopes making the Brickyard might bring about more opportunities in NASCAR.

"It might open doors," he said. "In road courses, it's been easier. In Nationwide, Dollar General and the Braun team have given me the help there and given me the opportunity as well. I'm so happy they've given me the opportunity to be here at the Brickyard."

Now, the reality -- Villeneuve will start last in the field of 43 cars Sunday, on a narrow track that makes passing very difficult. "I love challenges," he said. "I like it when it's tough."

Once the green flag falls, he should get his wish.

Fonte: nascar.com

Este JV é danado!!! Adoro!!!

Beijinhos, Ice-Ludy