THE CANADIAN PRESS
MONTREAL — Marcos Ambrose did more than win pole position for the NAPA Auto Parts 200 — the Tasmanian road race ace also edged ex-Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve in his home town.
Ambrose and Villeneuve traded the lead twice in the final qualifying group on Saturday and it was the Aussie who came out with the quickest lap at the NASCAR Nationwide series event at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve — the 2.7-mile track named after Jacques’ father.
The two will start side by side on the front row for the 74-lap race on Sunday.
Joey Logano qualified third, defending race champion Carl Edwards was fourth, Boris Said was fifth and Jason Leffler sixth as the top six all beat the track qualifying record.
"Oh yeah, this photo’s going on the wall for sure," a beaming Ambrose said. "It’s going straight to the pool room.
"I’m really pumped up about it. Jacques doesn’t know he’s been a hero of mine ever since I started racing. The Indy 500 win he had in the Player’s car, and the cross-over to Formula One, I’ve watched him with envy, wishing I could be him. But today, I think he wishes he could be me."
When the laughter from that dig died down, a smiling Villeneuve said he has been targeting Ambrose since he won on the road course at Watkins Glen, N.Y. this season.
"It’s frustrating, but the field here is amazing," the 39-year-old said. "There are a lot of great road racers and Marcos has been amazing, so to be on the front row with him is fantastic. I just wish it was the other way around."
It was a second year in a row Ambrose won the pole, but while he has led each of the three previous editions of the race, he has yet to win. Last year, he looked to have it in the bag until his tires faded and he was passed on the final turn before the finish line by Edwards.
Grandstands were nearly full — with what appeared to be more fans than at the previous three NAPA Auto Parts 200s — on a warm, sunny day for the late afternoon qualifying for Nationwide, which is one step below NASCAR’s Sprint Cup series. More good weather is forecast for the 74-lap race on Sunday.
Fans saw a gripping finale to qualifying. Ambrose’s quickest lap was one minute 40.458 seconds while Villeneuve’s best was 1:40.619.
Villeneuve, who is expecting to learn any day whether his bid for a Formula One team with the Italian squad Durango will be accepted by the FIA, races only occasionally in NASCAR but his experience makes him a threat to win on any road course. His best finish at the Montreal event was fourth last year, however.
The 1997 F1 champion for Williams said a small mistake at a hairpin turn cost him the pole.
But he is glad to share the front row with Ambrose, another mostly sensible veteran driver who is not likely to pull off any crash-and-bang NASCAR moves off the start.
"It means we can keep our noses clean and get to racing," said Villeneuve, who also qualified second at Road America this year. "There’s no point in bending your fenders early in the race.
‘"And there’s no point discussing ways to be too nice to each other because we’ll take it too easy and the guys in the back will run into us. That’s not a clever thing to do. We’re both experienced road racers so I think we both know how to give each other enough room and not do anything stupid."
Villeneuve, who lives in Montreal but is originally from nearby Iberville, and Ambrose were unaware they were leapfrogging each other with ever-quicker laps in the final five-car group that also included Edwards, Said and Nationwide points leader Brad Keselowski, who was eighth.
Logano says he is still learning the ins and outs of road racing, having been brought up like most NASCAR drivers on oval tracks, but his second-place finish at Watkins Glen served notice that he is a quick study.
He botched his first lap, dragging grass from the infield onto the track, but on his third and final attempt he posted a 1:40.904 and briefly held the lead.
"It was a nice consistent lap," he said. "I didn’t go for that extra.
"We beat a lot of guys. The two best drivers here are the two in front of me. I’m happy to be third."
After Villeneuve, the top Canadian was Andrew Ranger of Roxton Pond, Que., in 11th place. However Ranger will start the race from the back because he needed an engine change after practice.
Patrick Carpentier of Joliette, Que., was 13th, Ron Fellows of Toronto was 15th, J.R. Fitzpatrick of Cambridge, Ont., was 17th and D.J. Kennington of St. Thomas, Ont., was 30th.
Pierre Bourque of Ottawa was second-last ahead of 68-year-old Morgan Shepherd’s Victory in Jesus car and was not among the 43 cars to qualify.
It is the fourth year the stock cars have visited the home track of the Canadian Grand Prix Formula One race. Previous pole winners were Carpentier in 2007, Scott Pruett in 2008 and Ambrose last year.