Have a FaceBook, Twitter, or other social networking account?

Link them to your fanatic account!

Add An Account

TAKE ME TO...
TRUCKS: Q&A - Nelson Piquet Jr.
Nelson Piquet Jr., is coming to NASCAR...
SPEED Staff  |  Posted January 19, 2010   Charlotte, NC
Brazilian racecar driver Nelson Piquet Jr. participated in a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) test session with Red Horse Racing (RHR) at New Smyrna Speedway in New Smyrna Beach, Fla., January 13-14, 2010.

Piquet Jr., 24, most recently raced for Renault in Formula One, and his father, Nelson Piquet, is a three-time Formula One world champion.

What were your impressions of testing the Tundra at New Smyrna Speedway?

NELSON PIQUET JR.:“This track is a bit more difficult than the other track (Motor Mile Speedway) I’ve driven last year. I’m getting used to it. I didn’t do many laps. It still takes me a few outings to get used to it every time. I think slowly it’s going to get more imbedded into me and I’m going to get more used to it. I still don’t feel comfortable in the truck. There are different things that I need to think about. It’s still a bit of a learning process for me for the next few weeks. I’m going to learn a lot, but I feel I’m still very much in the beginning (phases).”

Is it a bit of a ‘culture shock’ to be testing at New Smyrna compared to some of the places you’ve gone in your career?

NELSON PIQUET JR.:“My whole life -- my whole career -- I've been going to different tracks where there were different temperatures or different people or a different language or different continents. For me, I treat it all of course as work. My work is a passion, but when I’m at a track, for me it’s all the same. I’m with my mechanics, with my engineers, with my racecar next to me. For me, I can be in China or in America or in Australia or Brazil, and for me it’s still the same. Obviously, it’s different when you leave the track and you’re in a hotel or you need to eat in a restaurant. Different countries or different places have different styles of life. When I come into the racetrack my mind is just turned into race mode and it’s the track, the car, the engineers and it’s basically very similar everywhere around the world -- it’s motorsports. I think at the moment my head is just focusing on the driving, on getting used to the car, the track and stuff like that. I know it’s a much different environment of what I came from, but it’s just automatic because I’ve been doing this my whole life -- going from one place to another. And, if I start thinking about all of the stuff around that is happening, I think it disrupts my concentration.”

What was the deciding factor for you to give NASCAR a try?

NELSON PIQUET JR.:“I had to balance a lot of things. I had to balance my happiness. I had to balance my opportunities. I had to balance a lot of things and I think the best thing that I came up with -- that I thought would be better for me -- was the NASCAR route. I think the biggest factor point is that I’m having a lot of people behind me helping me, wanting me to be here. A lot of people that I trust and I’m liking. So, all of that has been very good for me. I think that’s what has played a big factor into the decision.”

Do you have a contract in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) yet?

NELSON PIQUET JR.:“Hopefully I will be able to do races with Red Horse Racing. I still don’t have the whole plan decided. It’s the first year. It’s a lot of learning for me. I’m going to be doing races here, races there -- as many races as I can just to get used to these kinds of cars and the tracks. If it starts going well, then I’ll maybe do even more races or maybe do higher levels, like maybe even Nationwide. It is all going to depend on how quick I learn everything and how well I get involved with the team.”

Are you excited to get into a new form of racing?

NELSON PIQUET JR.:“This is an oval. Not only is the car being built different with a carburetor and it’s much heavier, but it’s an oval. The whole process of everything is much different. I think I’ll really feel the excitement in the first race. To me, it’s still testing and everybody is still very friendly and everything. I think when we reach a race weekend that’s going to be when the real excitement is going to come and I’m going to really feel what the real thing is.”

Do you feel like you have to get over any challenges by coming to America and NASCAR?

NELSON PIQUET JR.:“I think one factor of coming to America was my language. I think I have it quite easy. I can get myself around quite easy with my English. I think for Brazilians to come to NASCAR, for example, the first thing is that his English needs to be very well. If a guy doesn’t speak English they wonder why he’s there. I speak better English probably than Portuguese. It’s going to help me get along here with some of the drivers, the series, with journalists and it will make everything much easier. I’ve studied in American schools my whole life and then lived in England for six years, so I think it’s more of my duty to speak good English.”

What made you move from Formula One to NASCAR?

NELSON PIQUET JR.:“I could’ve been there (Formula One) if I wanted to. A team offered me to be there. I just thought I was sick and tired of all of the stuff over there. I just took a decision of starting a new step in my career and a new challenge in coming to NASCAR. For a lot of people who are outside of America, it’s a downgrade. But for people that really understand -- maybe it’s a downgrade in technology of the car -- but in terms of career, of how big the sport is in a lot of ways it’s even a tougher step than F1. For me, I compare it side by side. It’s just two different types of cars. The level of competition and the seriousness and the business of both series are very, very high. I was just sick and tired of things over there. I got a very, very good opportunity over here to start my career here and I’m here.”

SOURCE: TOYOTA

Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale: Jan 19th-24th
speed_staff's avatar

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

SPEED Staff

SPEED.com

MORE BY THIS AUTHOR
Advertising | Jobs | Feedback | FAQ | Terms of Use | NEW Privacy Policy | Ad Choices | Site Map
Fox Sports | FUEL TV | FX Network | National Geographic | IGN | AskMen
The Motor Sports Authority, SPEED and associated logos are registered trademarks of Speed Channel Inc.
All Rights Reserved © Speed Channel, Inc. 2012

All external links will open in a new browser window. SPEED.com does not endorse external sites.