[media-credit name=”daytonainternationalspeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”274″]
[/media-credit]Nelson Piquet Jr
No. 30 Qualcomm Autotrac Chevrolet
Daytona International Speedway -NextEra Energy Resources 250 – February 24, 2012
No. 30 Qualcomm Autotrac Chevrolet News and Notes
The Technical Bit… The No. 30 Qualcomm Autotrac Chevrolet team will bring chassis TMS-016 to the season opener at Daytona International Speedway. TMS-016 was used last year by Ricky Carmichael at Daytona and Talladega Superspeedway events where he finished eighth and fourth respectively. Meet the Team…For 2012 Nelson is proud to announce support for the No. 30 team from Qualcomm, the global technology and communications provider and manufacturer, and Autotrac, the Brazilian market leader in solutions for monitoring and tracking vehicles. Nelson’s long-standing partnerships with clothing brands Alpinestars and Bell Helmets also continue. Lifting the Lid…Nelson will wear a unique helmet in Daytona designed by up-and-coming helmet painter Austin Polen. While maintaining the famous orange teardrop concept originated by his father, this version of Piquet’s helmet features iconic NASCAR photography in black and white, with snapshots of the infamous fistfight between Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough and a variety of hero portraits including Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt, Sr. Ready to Mingle?…Nelson will be signing autographs on NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race day. Head to the Daytona International Speedway fanzone between 2:30 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. on Friday, February 24th to catch up with Nelson and his Turner Motorsports teammates, James Buescher and Miguel Paludo. The Social Network… Keep up to date with all things Nelson via Twitter @NelsonPiquet (over 254,000 followers and growing!), the website www.npiquet.com, and Facebook at www.facebook.com/NPiquetJr. Look and Listen… The NextEra Energy Resources 250 can be seen live on Friday, February 24th on SPEED. Race coverage will begin at 7:00 p.m. EST. The event can also be heard live on MRN Radio as well as Sirius Satellite Radio, channel 90.
Nelson Piquet Jr. on driving at Daytona International Superspeedway
“I am really excited to get to Daytona and get this season started. It’s always a difficult race because there is a high risk of not finishing because of all the accidents. You are also running flat out the whole time. It would be great to win a Daytona race but my goal is to stay safe and finish the race in the top-five or top-ten with a firm eye on the championship.”
Crew Chief Chris Carrier on racing at Daytona International Speedway
“Daytona is a 2.5-mile course that is very smooth and the trucks will be running wide open the whole race. I expect the tandem bump drafting to be a big influence on the outcome. I’m confident in the quality of our team and I’m sure Nelson will be good there. It’s a different kind of race compared to to the rest of the season and superspeedways always have that element of luck and survival. Our goal will be to get safely to the last ten laps then see what we result we can get.”
Media Contact: Rebecca Banks at (305) 215-0350 or rebecca@captivate.me.uk
NELSON PIQUET JR.
Personal Statistics:
Birthdate: July 25, 1985
Birthplace: Heidelberg, Germany
Hometown: Brasilia, Brazil
Residence: Cornelius, North Carolina
With motor racing in his blood, it’s no surprise that Nelson PiquetJr. continued the family tradition in becoming a race car driver. Son of three-time World Champion Nelson Piquet, Nelson Jr. began karting at the age of eight in his native Brazil. He spent eight seasons learning his craft in Brazilian karting series’, and won three championships before graduating to cars in 2001.
His potential flourished in 2002 when, in just his first full season of open wheel racing in the South American F3 championship, he won the series with four rounds remaining. Having proved himself in South America, he headed to Europe, following in the footsteps of drivers such as his father, and Ayrton Senna.
At age 17, Piquet took the unusual step of establishing his own team to enter the British F3 championship. His first year saw him finish third overall and his second season in 2004 proved even stronger, as he became the youngest driver to ever win the British F3 title, taking six race wins and five poles on the way to the top spot.
The Brazilian graduated to GP2 in 2005, a new category designed as a feeder series to Formula 1. He finished runner-up in the series in 2006 after a season-long battle with Lewis Hamilton that saw him win four races and score four further podiums. His dynamic performances once again caught the eye of the F1 community and he signed as test driver for the Renault F1 Team for the following year.Nelson also made his debut at the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours endurance event in 2006. Racing with veterans David Brabham and Antonia Garcia for the privateer Team Modena in an Aston Martin DBR9, the crew took an impressive fourth-place in the GT1 class, finishing ninth overall.
He graduated to a race seat in F1 for 2008 alongside Fernando Alonso at the ING Renault F1 Team where his performances, including a second-place podium in the German GP, helped the team secure fourth position in the constructors’ championship. He continued with the team into 2009.
For 2010, Nelson opted to pursue a career in NASCAR. He began his stock car career with a program of ARCA Racing Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) events. He made his NCWTS debut at Daytona International Speedway and navigated to a sixth-place finish. He earned three top-10 finishes in just five starts and also made his NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) debut at Watkins Glen, finishing seventh.
Nelson competed full-time in the 2011 NCWTS with the Kevin Harvick Inc team. His best result came at Nashville Superspeedway where he finished second, while he also racked up an additional nine top-10 finishes. He finished his rookie season 10th overall in the championship point standings.
The 26-year-old is competing full-time in the 2012 NCWTS driving the No. 30 and will run a few select NNS races with Turner Motorsports.
Daytona International Speedway
Date
Start
Finish
LC/TL
Status
$Won
2/18/2011
35
27
80/103
Engine
$12,400
2/12/2010
22
6
100/100
–
$16,125
Starts
Poles
Wins
Top-Fives
Top-10s
LC/TL
$Won
2
0
0
0
1
180/203 (89%)
$28,525
