Jacques Villeneuve to drive for Braun Racing in Montreal (05)
MEDIA ALERT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE BRAUN RACING ANNOUNCES JACQUES VILLENEUVE TO DRIVE THE NO. 32 DOLLAR GENERAL TOYOTA AT ROAD AMERICA AND IN MONTREAL MOORESVILLE, N.C. (June 1, 2009) - Braun Racing is pleased to announce that former Formula One World Champion Jacques Villeneuve will drive the No. 32 Dollar General Toyota in upcoming NASCAR Nationwide Series events at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada and at the inaugural event at Road America (Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin). Both tracks hold special meaning to Villeneuve. He earned his first career CART Series win at Elkhart Lake and the return to Montreal will mark his third career Nationwide Series start at the world-renowned road course named after his father, Gilles Villeneuve, also a legendary F1 racer. Last season in Montreal, Villeneuve qualified Braun Racing's No. 32 Toyota Camry in the sixth position. Despite heavy rain conditions that enveloped the area for the second consecutive year, the highly skilled driver brought home a fourth-place finish. He is a road course phenomenon with a tremendous amount of experience at both race tracks. A two-time winner at Road America in the CART Series (1994 and 1995), Villeneuve also claimed the pole position for the 1995 event. In a career that has spanned more than two decades, Villeneuve has found success that can be rivaled by very few. He has captured world championships in both the CART and Formula One Series and was the winner of the 1995 Indianapolis 500. To win championships in both CART and F1, in addition to the famed Indy 500, is a feat that has only been accomplished by two other drivers. "It's great to be back driving with Braun Racing and Dollar General," said Villeneuve. "Racing again after an exciting and fun race last year in Montreal, and now to also be doing the race at Elkhart Lake (Road America) where I won my first Indy race is going to be full of good memories! I am very much looking forward to it!" "We are very happy to have Villeneuve back behind the wheel of the Dollar General Toyota at Road America and Montreal," said Braun Racing owner, Todd Braun. "He is an extremely talented driver and has had very strong runs in our cars in the past. His experience and success at Road America will be a great asset to our team and its road course program." François Dumontier, President of Octane Management and Associated Promoter of the NAPA Auto Parts 200 Presented by Dodge, was very happy with today's announcement. "The return of Jacques is of course great news for the Montreal fans. But what is more interesting is that racing at Road America will help him get better acquainted with the Braun Racing team members, and also get some seat time in the car. Come the Montreal race a few weeks later, Jacques will be in race mode and could be one of the pretenders looking for the win. To also know that Patrick Carpentier, another one of the crowd favorite, will be in the field next August enables us to anticipate at lot of enthusiasm from the fans" Tickets for the 2010 Montréal NAPA Auto Parts 200, Presented by Dodge are currently on sale. To order the best grandstands tickets and see Jacques Villeneuve, Patrick Carpentier as well as several other NASCAR stars on Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Saturday and Sunday August 28-29, fans must call 514 397-0007 or order online anytime at www.circuitgillesvilleneuve.ca/en/. About Braun Racing Braun Racing is a leading team in the NASCAR Nationwide Series that was handpicked four years ago by Toyota to help lead their entrance into the series. The team is proud to have claimed Toyota's first Nationwide Series pole on February 24, 2007 at California Speedway and their first win at O'Reilly Raceway Park on July 28, 2007. Founded by team owner Todd Braun in 2002, the team is in its eighth season of competition in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and is expanding into a four-car operation in 2010 with an all-star driver line-up that includes Kasey Kahne, Brian Vickers, Jason Leffler, Reed Sorenson, David Reutimann and Brian Scott. Braun Racing's marketing partners includes Great Clips, Dollar General, Beringer Vineyards, AccuDoc Solutions, Fraternal Order of Eagles, ABF, Northeastern Supply, SEM and Safety-Kleen. About Dollar General Corporation Dollar General is the largest discount retailer in the United States by number of stores with 8,800 neighborhood stores in 35 states. Dollar General helps shoppers Save time. Save money. Every day!® by offering quality private and national branded items that are frequently used and replenished, such as food, snacks, health and beauty aids, cleaning supplies, basic apparel, house wares and seasonal items at everyday low prices in convenient neighborhood stores. Dollar General is among the largest retailers of top-quality products made by America's most trusted manufacturers such as Procter & Gamble, Kimberly-Clark, Unilever, Kellogg's, General Mills, Nabisco, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola. The Company store support center is located in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. Dollar General's Web site can be reached at www.dollargeneral.com. - 30 - Media Contact: Jody Jennings Braun Racing O: 704.799-1118 C: 205.910-4429 jody@braunracing.com For Stock-Car Montréal Normand Prieur 450 492-6963 (Office) 514 836-6963 (mobile) nprieur@videotron.ca Photo: Villeneuve à Montreal.jpg Jacques Villeneuve will drive the No. 32 Dollar General Toyota in upcoming NASCAR Nationwide Series events at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. Photo Credit: Octane Racing Group Inc. / Muriel Brousseau Photo: Braun Racing Toyota Camry.jpg In 2009, the highly skilled Villeneuve brought home a fourth-place finish in Montreal. Photo Credit: Braun Racing