Following the legal victory over Renault F1 Team concerning the Crashgate libel case, Nelson Piquet Jr. decided to move on his racing career in America and announced that he will compete in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series racing full time joining Kevin Harvick Inc. Racing Team that includes Ron Hornaday Jr., Elliott Sadler and Harvick itself as drivers.Piquet commented:
“The racing, the atmosphere, the whole environment — it really attracted me. I was used to racing in Europe with a cold environment and people difficult to work with. It’s very competitive in NASCAR. You live healthy. There are good people around you. There’s no one stabbing you in the back.”
Further details regarding the sponsorship program will be released at soon but Piquet feels that he is ready to commit his racing career to NASCAR.
Pique ran five NCWTS events for Red Horse Racing in 2010 season, finishing sixth in his first race at Daytona International Speedway. He also drove in one Nationwide Series race, finishing seventh in Watkins Glen, N.Y. and he estimates that he is in position to win few races and the series' Rookie of the Year award.
“My choice was to go for the best team. Obviously, I need to learn a lot before winning a race, but being with such a good team should help me get good results. I think they can help me with the transition from open wheel to NASCAR.”
Piquet said he is more concerned with the technicalities of setting up and racing a truck than with the actual on-track competition.
“The different part for me is setting up the car. Knowing what to do is difficult — the track bar, tire pressure, wedge, how the tires work, how the tracks work with temperature dropping and the different kinds of tracks — asphalt and concrete differences. And night and day racing differences. I never know what’s going to happen the first year. Obviously, we’re expecting the best. If things go well the first year and we’re fighting for the championship, maybe we’ll have a chance to race Nationwide. There’s a long-term plan to reach Cup when I’m prepared, but I don’t want to start jumping series and thinking I deserve to be in Cup. I know that’s not how it works.”
