Motorsports

Nelson proud to see baby debut in 500

By Brant James, Times Staff Writer
Published February 18, 2008

ADVERTISEMENT Gary Nelson was the face and force behind the "Car of Tomorrow." [AP photo] Ashley Judd dressed down for the day as her husband Dario Franchitti debuted.

DAYTONA BEACH - Gary Nelson stood in the shade thrown by the canopy of the NASCAR hauler an hour before the Daytona 500, having his hand shaken by executives such as vice president of competition Robin Pemberton.

Nelson ran NASCAR's research and development center before leaving to subcontract his expertise in car design and safety to the private sector. In between he was the face and force behind the boxier, ostensibly safer, more economical and ornerier "Car of Tomorrow." And as it neared its debut on NASCAR's biggest stage, he looked pleased.

"For several years it was tough to go out and talk about it," he said. "We had a lot of skeptics and we just kept working, kind of stayed on pretty much the original plan of trying to improve safety and cost and competition, mapped out that plan way back and NASCAR stuck with it the whole time, so it worked out well."

Nelson said he considered Sunday's Daytona debut more important than the upcoming 2- and 1.5-mile premieres at California and Las Vegas, respectively, though those track lengths comprise more of the Sprint Cup schedule.

"Daytona 500 is it," he said. "It's the Super Bowl, and if you can perform well in the Super Bowl you can play on pretty much any field in the country."

Drivers wrestled with the car all night, but they were much less critical than in the past.

YO, CANADA: Former Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve flew to France on Saturday for a 24 Hours of Le Mans commitment (which he missed) and joins new business manager Barry Green today in Montreal as he tries to find NASCAR sponsorship. Villeneuve failed to qualify Bill Davis Racing's No.27 Toyota for the 500 and the team issued a statement saying journeymen Mike Skinner and Johnny Benson will drive "during the next several NASCAR Sprint Cup series races." But Green said Villeneuve, 36, would return to the car after acquiring funding.

"It was my clear understanding that if we come up with a sponsor Monday or Tuesday that he will probably be in that car," Green said in a phone interview from Indianapolis.

Davis told NASCAR.com: "(Villeneuve) has all the tools in the world to be successful down here, we just have to have money to do it on. The sponsorship dollars have just not come. ... I promise you, if (Villeneuve) called tomorrow and had a sponsor, we'd be all set to go."

Green said he thought sponsor talks were "further along than they actually were" when he replaced Craig Pollock on an informal basis two weeks ago. So he and Villeneuve, a former CART champ and Indianapolis 500 winner, came to Daytona "hat in hand" trying to qualify for his third Sprint Cup race.

"JV's people have been talking to a lot of sponsors in Canada and that's showing a lot of interest," Green said. "Now we're trying to see if we can act on it."

DRESSED DOWN: Ashley Judd, wife of series rookie Dario Franchitti, apparently got the memo on pit road dress code. She strode pit lane in a dress and sun hat in qualifying but opted for the standard-issue jeans and T-shirt on Sunday.

[Last modified February 17, 2008, 22:59:36]