Villeneuve shrugs off criticism

Villeneuve said he understands his colleagues' concern of having a rookie racing with them in the draft when the title is at stake. He stated his intention is not to try to win the race but just to get some mileage in preparation for next year's Daytona 500.

"I don't think that they're saying I'm not qualified to race," said Villeneuve. "All that they're saying is that it might be a little early during the Chase. I think I would say the same thing in their shoes. You don't want any unknowns out there when you're running for a championship.

"At the same time, I've always tried to race intelligently. I'm not here to try and be a hero. I don't have any points and I'm not here for a championship. All I want to do is get the race mileage and get ready for Daytona."

The former Formula One, Champ Car and Indy 500 champion reminded there were no issues when he tested with all the Nextel Cup drivers a few weeks ago at Talladega. Some drivers then didn't even notice it was Villeneuve who was drafting with them as he drove a car with the color scheme normally used by his experienced teammate Dave Blaney.

"We did a two-day test here and drafted for two days and everybody was happy," Villeneuve added. "On the first day, nobody knew it was me in the car, they thought it was Blaney. Everybody worked with me and there wasn't a problem. I think that's what made the difference in NASCAR's eyes, not because I come from Formula One."

On Friday the Canadian was 42nd on his first practice and 24th in the final one before qualifying Saturday in an attempt to make his Nextel Cup debut on Sunday. If he makes the race, he said he won't just drive at the back of the pack but will instead try to get in the draft and hope to stay out of trouble.

"You don't want to be at the back and drop out of the draft either," he said. "You want to be in the middle of there learning but you don't want to make a crazy move, change lines when you don't know if you're clear or not.

"But of course if there's a fifteen-car pile up there's a chance you'll be in the middle of it and there's nothing you can do. I hope I won't be in any of them because then fingers will start to be pointed."

Villeneuve will be the 21st car out of 52 trying to make the field for Sunday's race at Talladega. He will be one of 17 drivers contending for the eight places remaining on the grid for those outside the top 35 in the owner points.