North of the Border: Stephen Leicht's daily blog from Montreal
Richard Childress Racing driver Stephen Leicht finished fifth in the inaugural NASCAR Nationwide Series race in 2007 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada.
// LaDon George, NASCAR Scene
Bonjour!
It rained earlier today at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, but Goodyear brought rain tires which we ran in the first practice session. The Holiday Inn Racing team worked on the No. 29 Chevy and we picked up two seconds on our fastest time right at the very end.
The rain tires are great, but it gets a little crazy to drive the Nationwide Series cars as you're sliding around the turns. I didn’t get the chance to race in the rain last year in Montreal, so I took it a little easier in this morning session.
Final practice was cancelled as they tried to give the teams the opportunity to run on the regular tires, but it didn’t work out. Qualifying is still set for 4:40 p.m. EDT, and the way they have it designed is pretty cool.
We go out in groups of about five to six cars, and the groups are based on our times from the first practice session. They send each driver in a group out in 30-second intervals and everyone in the group gets about eight minutes on the track together. Then it’s like regular qualifying where the single-quickest time from each driver determines the starting field.
This style gets tricky though. Sometimes you outrun a slower car, which can mess up your lap completely. On the other hand, it definitely adds to the full-race experience for these great fans.
I have to tell you, the fans here are amazing! It was raining earlier, but that didn’t stop them from coming out here today. It seemed like more and more fans were filing into the stands the longer we ran that first practice. And now, the grandstands are about full. It’s an awesome site, especially with how close they are to the track.
Last night, I had a nice meal with my family and got to enjoy some of the sights Montreal has to offer. We even made a stop at little trip down to Crescent Street, or Rue Crescent as the locals call it, for a NASCAR fan fest.
Once we get done with qualifying, I’ll head back to the Holiday Inn Express, grab dinner and get some rest for the race tomorrow.
I’ll be writing two more blogs after this one. I’ll post one tomorrow before the race and the final one will be posted on Monday to recap the event.
Talk to you tomorrow!
Stephen
