Ranger hopes to challenge Carpentier, Villeneuve at NASCAR Nationwide race
MONTREAL — Stock car prospect Andrew Ranger has nudged his way into what was supposed to be an all-Quebec showdown between Patrick Carpentier and Jacques Villeneuve at the NAPA Auto Parts 200.
The 21-year-old from Roxton Pond, Que., is a late addition to the NASCAR Nationwide series race to be held Saturday at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, where he'll be driving the No. 22 Fitz Motorsports Dodge.
That's the same car Carpentier used to launch his NASCAR career a year ago on the same track, where he took pole position and finished second in the inaugural Montreal race. The former Champ Car and IRL pilot had test driven a stock car for the first time less than a week earlier.
"We got a great opportunity," Ranger said Thursday as cars were unloaded from their rigs and pushed to their garages. "NASCAR Canada helped.
"They said no one was available to drive the No. 22 car and they called us to see if we were interested. It's unbelievable to have that drive. I'm so proud. I'll do my best. To finish in the top 10 would be great for us."
The Nationwide series is one step below the Sprint Cup circuit, but some drivers compete in both.
Ranger, who grew up in open wheel racing, at least has a season and a half of experience in stock cars, having won the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series as a rookie last year. He'll drive in both the Canadian Tire and Nationwide events on Saturday.
Carpentier turned last year's performance into a full-time ride in the Sprint Cup with Gillett-Evernham team, owned by Montreal Canadiens owner George Gillett. Due to his road racing experience and familiarity with the challenging Montreal track, he will be among the favourites.
Villeneuve joined the fray recently when he found sponsorship to take over the No. 32 car for Braun Racing for this event only.
"It was great news for the event," said Francois Dumontier, vice-president to promoter Normand Legault. "Jacques still has a lot of fans and it will create a battle between Patrick and Jacques.
"And now Andrew Ranger has been added so there's a three-way local battle."
The son of former Ferrari driver Gilles Villeneuve, for whom the track is named, was CART and Indy 500 champion in 1995 and Formula One champ in 1997, but left the F1 circuit two years ago to pursue a career in stock cars.
It hasn't worked out quite as planned however. Villeneuve did seven Craftsman Truck Series events and two in the Sprint Cup, but hasn't found sponsors or a team willing to take him on full time.
Some see him as yesterday's man, and there are concerns he is too much ingrained in F1's European style and culture to fit in with the good old boys from NASCAR.
Mike Hillman Jr., his crew chief for this race, thinks Villeneuve will do just fine.
"They tested this car before we came up here and they ran very well compared to the other cars that were there," Hillman said. "This is Jacques' home town and he's got a lot more road course experience than these guys do.
"We all try to win in our home towns and to bring a home town guy to Montreal is really neat."
Carpentier and Villeneuve, both 37, will likely be the main focus for the crowd, expected at least to match the 68,000 that turned out for last year's inaugural NAPA Auto Parts 200. A total of 129,000 attended the two days of racing.
But there are other well known drivers in the field, including Carl Edwards, the series winner in 2007, Greg Biffle, David Reutimann, Scott Wimmer and Marcos Ambrose, although last year's race winner Kevin Harvick is not entered.
Some will fly out to Pocono to race in a Sprint Cup race on Sunday.
There are also some accomplished road racers, including veteran Ron Fellows of Toronto in his No. 5 GoDaddy Chevrolet and former CART racers Max Papis and Scott Pruett. NASCAR races mostly on ovals, but there are a few road races on the schedule.
The Nationwide series leader after 23 of 35 races is Clint Bowyer, followed closely by Brad Keselowski and Edwards.
There are two practice sessions on Friday, with qualifying and the race on Saturday afternoon. The race begins 3:30 p.m. ET,
There are concerns over the weather - rain is forecast for Saturday - and the state of the track, which crumbled in places during the Canadian Grand Prix F1 race in June.
Dumontier said parts of the track have been patched with a compound recommended by NASCAR, but resurfacing will have to wait until after this week's event. They hope to resurface the entire track.
The teams have grooved tires and can race if its wet, but in the case of a major storm, the event can be postponed to Sunday morning.
The promoters have one year remaining on their contract for the Nationwide race, but hope next year to get a weekend in which there is no Sprint Cup event in order to draw more big names. The long-term goal is to land a Sprint Cup race.
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