HAMPTON, Ga. (September 4, 2011) – Nelson Piquet Jr. and the No. 8 Qualcomm/Autotrac crew made their way to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Labor Day weekend event. Making his first appearance at the 1.54-mile track, the Brazilian native started the race from the 16th position and overcame on-track contact and pit road issues to capture a 20th-place finish.
Coming off a solid run the prior week at Bristol Motor Speedway the rookie driver headed into the race with confidence and momentum. Piquet Jr. worked his way into the 13th position by lap 10, but reported that his Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) Chevrolet was incredibly loose.
The No. 8 truck had fallen back to 16th when the first caution flag of the night waved on lap 20 for oil on the track. Crew chief Chris Carrier called his driver down pit road for their first pit stop of the evening, which included four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. Piquet Jr. headed back on track to restart the race on lap 26 running in the 16th position.
Back on track the young driver worked to maintain his track position as another truck came up the track and made contact with the No. 8 machine on lap 34. The contact caused left-side damage to the Qualcomm/Autotrac Chevrolet which magnified the loose-handling issues the driver was fighting. The battle with the ill-handling truck caused Piquet Jr. to slide back to the 20th position. On lap 38, an accident involving two trucks took place in turn four and yellow waved for the second time. Under the yellow-flag conditions, Carrier called his driver onto pit road for the KHI team to fix the left-side damage, make a chassis adjustment and fill the truck with fuel. The stop allowed Piquet Jr. to restart the race in the 20th position on lap 42.
Back under green-flag conditions, the rookie driver was on a mission to gain track position. Piquet Jr. had secured the 19th spot on lap 51, after falling back to 23rd after the restart. Just as the driver was beginning to work his way through the field, the third caution fell for an accident in turn two on lap 60. Piquet Jr. relayed to his crew that the truck was still very, very loose through the turns. He maneuvered the No. 8 to pit road for four tires and fuel and for an additional chassis adjustment to help with the handing of the Chevrolet. Piquet Jr. rejoined the field in the 23rd spot for restart the lap 64 restart.
As green-flag racing resumed, Piquet Jr. quickly began to pick up positions, working his way to 14th by lap 71. Just as the No. 8 Chevrolet settled into the 14th position, the fourth caution flag waved for debris on the track on lap 73. The driver reported that the truck was becoming loose again, but the team opted not to pit allowing the No. 8 to restart 13th on lap 76. The field would not remain under green long before the yellow flag would return on lap 79 for the fifth and final caution period of the night. The No. 8 crew elected to remain on track and restarted the race on lap 81 running in the 14th spot.
Piquet Jr. maintained his track position as green-flag conditions resumed. Still fighting handling issues, the No. 8 machine slid back to 15th by the time Carrier called his driver to pit road for the team’s scheduled green-flag pit stop on lap 112. The Qualcomm/Autotrac crew bolted on four tires, filled the truck with fuel and made another round of chassis adjustments. An issue occurred with the execution of the stop, costing the team valuable time on pit road and subsequently causing the team to go a lap down. Piquet Jr. returned to the track in the 22nd position and fought through the final laps to move through the field. When the checkered flag waved, the rookie driver crossed the finish line in the 20th position.
The No. 8 KHI team will make their way to Chicagoland Speedway on September 16 for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series 225. Tune in SPEED at 8:00 p.m. ET and listen to MRN at 7:45 p.m. ET.
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