He loves changing diapers and being a dad, but felt the urge to get back into a race car. It’s what led him into NASCAR, where he’s one of four former open-wheelers following Juan Pablo Montoya’s highly watched move to stock cars.

Montoya, who won a Cup race, a Nationwide race and rookie of the year last season, thinks Villeneuve can be good in NASCAR.

“He’s so talented,” Montoya said. “And when he was in good cars, he was among the best in the world. But then when his cars weren’t good, he didn’t win anymore and people forget just how good he was.”

To show that in NASCAR, he’ll need to ensure he makes it an entire season. And he’s doing it without Pollock, who had guided all but two years of Villeneuve’s professional career.

The driver and manager parted ways late last month, with rumblings that Pollock was ousted when he failed to deliver sponsorship to sustain the NASCAR season. But Villeneuve insists it’s because Pollock decided he wants to live with his new wife in Europe, and the distance made their working relationship impossible.

Having to deal with all the details has stressed Villeneuve a bit, so he last week called Barry Green, who fielded his cars for him in CART, and asked him to handle his business affairs.

“The only thing I want to be doing is drive the race car,” he said. “When you try to do more than one job at a time, you won’t do it as good as you should because your mind is not as rested the way it should be. It’s not a positive thing. If I am driving, then I just want to concentrate on that.”

With a big weekend ahead of him — one that could decide this final leg of his career — Villeneuve needs to be stress-free. He doesn’t mind the predicament he’s in, and has no problem fighting hard to make it work.

“I don’t have an ego problem,” he said. “I have always been a person to not sit on the past, to go forward, and this is a new challenge from ground zero. It is challenging, it can be frustrating, but once it all works out the way I think it will, it will be rewarding.”

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