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BDR still seeking budget for Villeneuve

BDR Team Owner Bill Davis has said they are still seeking sponsors to secure enough funding for Jacques Villeneuve's first full-season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

The Canadian was among the fastest in this week's major Cup test at Daytona, setting the fastest single-car lap for a Toyota, less than a tenth of a second off from Jimmie Johnson's benchmark.

However, efforts to sign major sponsors for Villeneuve's NASCAR assault have apparently not come to fruition yet, leading to speculation that he may not run the whole season if a full budget is not raised soon.

Villeneuve qualified for the two Cup races that he entered last year for BDR, running UNICEF branding on his No. 27 entry in support of the humanitarian organization. He also ran in seven Truck events, most of them also with the blue and white logos.

"Sponsorship for the No. 27 program has not yet been finalized," said Team Owner Bill Davis. "We're out talking to companies across a range of categories. The 50th Daytona 500 is a great opportunity to debut as a car sponsor."

The former Formula One World champion has to qualify on time for the first five races of the year and needs some good results in order to lock himself in the top-35 in the owner points. If he doesn't, he will still need to qualify on speed for each race he enters.

BDR's other car in the Sprint Cup, the No. 22 driven by Dave Blaney, is locked in the top-35 and thus has a place on the grid guaranteed for the first five races. The team confirmed since last year that CAT, the car's main sponsor, would continue to support their efforts.

Bill Davis said at the end of last year that he was considering selling equity of his team and Villeneuve's manager Craig Pollock was linked with a buy-out of the squad, which has not materialized.

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