FINAL DA TEMPORADA DE ROOKIE (END OF THE ROOKIE SEASON): Nelson Piquet Jr. and the No. 8 Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) team will head to South Florida for the final NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race of the 2011 season. While the event will mark the young driver’s 25th start of the season and final start as a rookie in the series, it will be his first appearance at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Piquet Jr. has excelled at the intermediate-style tracks on the circuit this season, earning five top-five and seven top-10 finishes in 12 starts on 1.5-mile tracks.
HOMESTEAD ACHIEVEMENTS: KHI has made 11 starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway over the course of the company’s history. Four different drivers have helped KHI collect one win (KHI co-owner Kevin Harvick, 2009), five top-five and nine top-10 finishes, and have led a total of 200 laps at the track.
SIGHTS SET ON ROOKIE HONORS: During the second half of the season, Piquet Jr. has climbed his way through the Rookie of the Year point standings moving into the second position, only five points behind leader Joey Coulter, as the Truck Series heads to Homestead for the final race of the season. With the help of strong consistent finishes, the young driver has worked his way up through the standings from as far back as eighth after the fourth race of the season at Martinsville Speedway in April.
CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 8 team will unload chassis No. 051 at Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend. Piquet Jr. has utilized this chassis in competition seven times this season. In those seven starts, the rookie driver earned five top-five and five top-10 finishes. Most recently, the Brazilian native competed with chassis No. 051 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 4 where his fourth-place finished earned him honors as the highest finishing rookie of the race.
MOST POPULAR DRIVER: The checkered flag is about to fall on the Most Popular Driver voting. NASCAR fans can log onto www.nascar.com to cast their vote for Piquet Jr. as the 2011 Truck Series Most Popular Driver. Voting is underway and will continue until Thursday, November 17. Fans can vote once daily until the end of the contest.
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Piquet Jr. and the No. 8 KHI team made their way to Texas Motor Speedway with the Truck Series for the WinStar World Casino 350K on November 4. Piquet Jr. started the race from the seventh position and ran within the top 15 for the majority of the 147-lap event before crossing the finish line fourth.
THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Nelson Piquet Jr.
What are your thoughts on racing at Homestead-Miami Speedway?
“I am very much looking forward to the race in Homestead. I seem to do quite well at this style of track, and I’ve learned so much during the course of the season. With that, I’m heading into this race with a lot of confidence in myself and my team. We are only five points behind Joey Coulter for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year award, and I’m hoping that after the race this weekend we’ll be able to take over the lead. A solid finish will also help me achieve my primary goal of the season, finishing within the top-10 in the Driver Point standings.”
Media Access: Members of the media can now log on to www.kevinharvickinc.com to gain access to press kit information online. For more information, please email Jill Frischmann at jfrischmann@kevinharvickinc.com.
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