Villeneuve and Carpentier miss their date with the Daytona 500.

Today was the last chance for both Jacques Vileneuve and Patrick Carpentier to qualify for the first race of the 2008 NASCAR season, the Daytona 500.

During the second heat where only the top two drivers were qualified for the race, Jacques Villeneuve has lost control of his car and crashed during the 15th lap, eliminating himself.

As for Patrick Carpentier, he managed to stay in the race longer than Villeneuve but lost contact with the leading pack late in the heat. As he was desperatly pushing his car, Carpentier collided with the outside wall with only three laps to go.

I liked the chances of Patrick Carpentier. I honestly thought that he would be able to bring his car in the top two today. His lap times were very good in general all weekend long.

Both french canadian drivers will have to try to qualify themselves for the next race of the season in Fontana.

(Picture: Patrick Carpentier, RDS.ca)