Jacques Villeneuve these days at Daytona he is proving that, even with half a century of life on his shoulders, talent at the wheel can always make a difference. In fact, the Canadian driver managed to snatch a ticket for the 500 miles on Sunday night in qualifying on Wednesday night. There Daytona 500 it is notoriously the most important race in the NASCAR landscape and one of the most relevant events in the world of motorsport. Villeneuve lacked participation in this race, after having taken part in the F1 World Championship, the IndyCar championship, the Indianapolis 500 and finally also the 24 Hours of Le Mans during his long career. The son of the great Gilles triumphed in F1, IndyCar and Indianapolis, even touching success in the French endurance race, in which he finished second with Peugeot in 2009.
In recent years, especially thanks to Fernando Alonso’s extra-F1 feats, there has been a lot of talk about the attempt by some drivers to try to hit the so-called ‘Triple Crown’ of motorsport in the course of their career, or the victory of the Monte-Carlo GP. of F1, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Indy 500. This record is no longer attainable from Villeneuve. However, the former Williams driver, qualifying for the Daytona 500, managed to write another very special record, which will be anything but simple to match for other riders to come in the future. Villeneuve in fact became the first former F1 world champion driver to earn the right to race at Daytona.
There is actually only one other precedent comparable to that of the Canadian champion and it can only concern the hero of the two worlds: Mario Andretti. In fact, the legendary Piedone was F1 champion in 1978 and also raced and won the Daytona 500. Unlike what Villeneuve did, however, Andretti competed on the Florida circuit at the beginning of his career, between 1966 and 1968, imposing himself in the 1967 edition. So before having hit the world champion crown in the Circus. It seems difficult to imagine that Villeneuve could aim for success on Sunday evening, but the mere fact of having qualified – at over 50 years of age – represents a great victory for the career of a multipurpose champion like few before him.
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