Bum rap

In today's Toronto Sun, there's a a piece about the Toronto Indy and a mention of Jacques Villeneuve's quick exit from the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series race in Montreal.

The piece includes the line, "Driving the No. 7 Tide-sponsored Dave Jacombs Racing Ford, Villeneuve was spun into the wall by six-time national champion Don Thomson Jr. on the first lap of the Tide 250."

Don Thomson started second. Andrew Ranger started fourth (behind Thomson). Jacques Villeneuve was several rows back, in 10th.

By most accounts (I was there, but didn't see the initial contact), Ranger got into Thomson (I'm told Ranger later accepted blame via a radio transmission to his team) halfway through the first turn, leaving Thomson sideways in the outside lane. Most cars got by, but Villeneuve was unable to avoid Thomson and ploughed into him. There is no wall outside of turns 1 & 2 at St-Eustache.

This isn't to pin blame on Ranger (Villeneuve's teamate) as there was a frenzy of action into turn 1, but it's just to note that it would have been a physical impossibility for Thomson to have dropped eight spots in 100 yards before turning Villeneuve into a wall that wasn't there. Dave Stubbs in the Gazette saw it this way, too.

People (the fans and Villeneuve) were very disappointed that he was out of the race after 100 yards on Sunday but it's not right to hang the blame for it on Thomson.