Jacques Villeneuve is edging closer to a deal with a NASCAR team, according to an Italian sports newspaper.

‘La Gazzetta dello Sport’ is reporting this week that the French Canadian, whose BMW tenure and formula one career abruptly ended after the German GP last month, is now in talks with a team in the highly-popular American stock car series.

If confirmed for 2007, the news would make 35-year-old Villeneuve - world champion of 1997 - the second former formula one winner to switch to NASCAR this year, after Juan Pablo Montoya announced his shock move in early July.

In Los Angeles’ ‘LA Times’ newspaper, meanwhile, the president of a leading sports marketing firm, Ardy Arani, outlined the value that a couple of well-known grand prix stars would bring to the US-based category.

He also called Villeneuve’s recent comments, in which he favorably compared NASCAR with formula one’s prestige, as a ‘watershed event’.

Arani continued: ”NASCAR, at least in terms of the dialogue among racers, is now seen as having parity with one of the major racing series in the world.”

[GMM]

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