Villeneuve leads Trucks before crash

The former Formula One world champion was having his last NASCAR race of the season and clearly showed progress in qualifying, where he was able to put his truck third on the grid, his best qualifying result thus far.

Once the race started he complained of a very loose truck and slipped down to ninth by the end of the first lap. He dropped even further before his first pitstop, but then started to move up the field as the handling improved following some adjustments.

He led the race for the first time on lap 60, getting his first ever bonus points for leading a race in NASCAR. He stayed ahead for seven laps battling up front with Kyle Busch, and then led once more on lap 76 before pitting under caution.

However, shortly after the restart he got loose going into Turn 1; his truck went sideways and he made contact with Jon Wood who was running very close to him on the outside. He then went into the wall backwards, finishing the race on the spot.

"I just lost the rear end, I'm not sure what happened," Villeneuve said about the incident. "The truck was a little bit loose on new tyres. We just wanted to tough it out for 10 laps and then it got great.

"The truck was really strong after all that, it was very easy to drive. Once we got in the rhythm we could run high or low. We could run everywhere."

Villeneuve will now concentrate on getting his plans sorted out for 2008 and testing in preparation for his first full season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

The race was won by his teammate Johnny Benson, while his other teammate, Mike Skinner, lost the title due to mechanical problems, having led the standings going into the final race.

Ron Hornaday Jr took his third NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series title, driving for Kevin Harvick's team.