MARTINSVILLE, Va. (Oct. 30, 2011) – Nelson Piquet Jr. and the No. 8 Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) team headed to Virginia with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for the Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway. The Brazilian native started 18th for the 200-lap event, and worked his way to as high as eighth before crossing the finish line 13th.
As the field came to life in the afternoon sun, Piquet Jr. informed his team the No. 8 Qualcomm/Autotrac Chevrolet was quite tight, but maintained a position near the top 20 until the first caution fell on lap 39 for a single- truck accident in turn two. During the caution laps, crew chief Jeff Hensley brought his driver on to pit road for the team’s first scheduled pit stop. The crew added four tires and fuel and sent their driver back on track in the 21st position for the lap 42 restart.
As the field resumed green-flag conditions, the rookie driver had worked his way into the 18th position when the second caution came for a two-truck accident in turn two on lap 50. The No. 8 Chevrolet elected to remain on track, restarting the race in the 16th position on lap 57.
Back on track, the driver was shuffled back to the 21st position when the field was slowed for a third time on lap 87 for a single-truck accident in turn four. Piquet Jr. brought the No. 8 machine down pit road for a second time for his crew to change four tires and add fuel to the truck. The quick visit to pit road allowed the young driver to restart the race on lap 92 in the 18th position.
Piquet Jr. had fallen back to 20th when the fourth caution was displayed on lap 105 after a two-truck accident which erupted in turn two. The No. 8 machine stayed on track during the caution, restarting the race on lap 109 in the 13th position.
Following the restart, Piquet Jr. was shuffled back to 14th where he remained until NASCAR waved the yellow flag for a fifth time on lap 115 for debris. The No. 8 team again opted to stay on track restarting the race in the 13th position on lap 119.
The KHI Chevrolet was shuffled out of position on the restart and fell back to 18th as the yellow flag was displayed for a sixth time on lap 132 for a two-truck incident on the backstretch. The No. 8 team remained on track while the leaders made their way to pit road. The pit strategy allowed Piquet Jr. to restart the race in the eighth position on lap 137.
As the field returned to full speed, Piquet Jr. slowly fell back to the 11th position just as the seventh caution of the day fell for a single-truck spin in turn three on lap 147. The truck remained on track as the caution laps ticked by positioning the No. 8 team 11th for the lap 151 restart.
Piquet Jr. worked his way back into the top 10 as the laps wound down, but fell back to the 11th position by lap 174 when a single-truck accident took place in turn two bringing out the eighth caution of the race. After staying on track, the No. 8 machine was scored in the 11th position as the field returned to green-flag racing on lap 178.
Just as quickly as the field resumed full speed, it was slowed for the ninth and final time on lap 181 after two trucks connected in turn four. Piquet Jr. remained in the 11th position with only 14 laps remaining in the 200-lap event. With 10 laps to go, the rookie regained track position in the top 10, but fell back to the 13th position where he remained until the checkered flag waved.
Piquet Jr. and the No. 8 team head back to the great state of Texas for the WinStar World Casino 350K next Friday as the Camping World Truck Series invades Texas Motor Speedway. To catch the action live, tune in to SPEED at 8:00 p.m. ET and listen to MRN at 7:45 p.m. ET.
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