NELSON PIQUET JR. QUICK FACTS
No. 30 ‘Bienvenidos a NASCAR’ Chevrolet Impala
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Ford 300
November 19, 2011
No. 30 ‘Bienvenidos a NASCAR’ Chevrolet News and Notes
Turner Motorsports welcomes Nelson Piquet Jr. … Turner Motorsports is pleased to welcome NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) standout Nelson Piquet Jr. to the seat of the No. 30 Chevrolet for this weekend’s Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Piquet Jr. made his NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) debut at Watkins Glen International in 2010. In his lone NNS start, the Brazil native brought home a seventh-place finish after qualifying in the 10th position.
NCWTS notes… As Piquet Jr. prepares for his first NNS race of 2011, the 26-year-old is wrapping up his rookie pursuit for the NCWTS championship. Over the course of 24 starts this season, he has captured five top-five and nine top-10 finishes, leading 52 laps along the way. He sits 10th in the championship point standings and is just five markers down in the fierce battle for the series’ Rookie of the Year honors.
Calling the shots… This weekend, Piquet Jr. will work with veteran crew chief Stewart Cooper. Cooper has worked with several drivers in 2011 including Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman, Boris Said, James Buescher and Ricky Carmichael.
This week’s Impala… The No. 30 team will round out the 2011 season this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway hitting the track with chassis TMS-310. This chassis made its debut at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where Kahne drove it to a fifth-place finish after starting in the seventh spot. Buescher also piloted TMS-310 two weeks ago at Texas Motor Speedway, finishing in the 17th spot.
Bienvenidos a NASCAR… In support of NASCAR’s ‘Bienvenidos a NASCAR’ program, Piquet Jr.’s No. 30 Chevrolet will sport a special program decal this weekend. In addition to decals on entries in all three of NASCAR’s top series, the program will provide bilingual brand ambassadors, virtual garage tours and guidebooks of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series garage. There will be a Spanish language broadcast available via scanner (via ESPN Deportes), as well as ‘Bienvenidos a NASCAR’ ticket packages though Homestead-Miami Speedway and a Chino y Nacho pre-race concert on Sunday, Nov. 20th at 12 p.m. at the Coca-Cola Stage.
Turner Motorsports: A look back… In 33 Nationwide Series events in 2011, Turner Motorsports-prepared entries have notched three wins, 21 top-five and 62 top-10 finishes. Mark Martin kicked off the season capturing the team’s first-ever NASCAR win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March. It was Justin Allgaier’s turn in June when he nabbed his second-career win at Chicagoland Speedway and Reed Sorenson rounded the month out winning his first NNS race with the organization at Road America. Both of Turner Motorsports’ championship-contending drivers are inside the top-10 in the driver point standings with Allgaier in third and Jason Leffler in sixth.
In 24 NCWTS races in 2011, Turner Motorsports’ entries have earned 13 top-five and 31 top-10 finishes. The organization has earned five pole awards with Buescher earning three, and Carmichael and Steve Arpin capturing one each. Buescher is currently sitting third in the championship point standings, 28 markers out of the lead.
Nelson Piquet Jr. on racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series
“I am really excited to have the opportunity to get in the Nationwide car for Turner Motorsports this weekend. I have never done double duty before, so I am really looking forward to it. It is going to be a lot of seat time, more then I have ever done before in one weekend. I want to thank Steve Turner for giving me the opportunity to get in one of his cars, and I am looking forward to bringing home a solid finish in the No. 30 machine.”
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