Jacques Villeneuve is targeting a top-three finish on his one-off outing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Road America this weekend. The 1997 F1 World Champion will make his first stock car start of the season in the inaugural NASCAR race on the four-mile road course track, driving for Braun Racing.
"I'm not too worried about joining halfway through the season, as it is the first road course this year and the first time ever for NASCAR to be racing at Elkhart Lake," said the 39-year-old Canadian. "A lot of drivers will be learning the track. We'll be looking for a strong result this weekend hopefully a top-three finish if we avoid any issues."
Villeneuve has not raced on the track since 1995, when won there for the second year in a row on his way to the CART Indy car title.
"Returning to Road America is very exciting as it remains one of my favorite tracks," he said. "I was hoping to return one day. I have great memories of the circuit as I won both times when I raced there in Indy cars. In fact, Road American in '94 was my first win in the series."
Villeneuve has two previous Nationwide starts to his name, at Montreal in 2008 and 2009. His best result is the fourth place he took last year.