BIG INDO NO TEXAS (GOING BIG IN TEXAS): Nelson Piquet Jr. and the No. 8 Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) team will make their way to the Southwest this week with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for the WinStar World Casino 350K. The Friday night race will mark the Brazilian native’s third Truck Series start at the 1.5-mile track, where he has earned one top-10 finish in his Truck Series career. During his last trip to the track Piquet Jr. spent most of the evening running near the front of the pack, before being shuffled out of the top 10 during a green-white-checkered finish, leaving the young driver with a 13th-place finish.
ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE LONE STAR STATE: KHI has made 23 starts in the Truck Series at Texas. Courtesy of Ron Hornaday, KHI has picked up three victories at the Fort Worth track (June 2011 and two wins in 2008). The company has also earned 10 top-five and 14 top-10 finishes, and has been credited with leading 518 laps on the quad-oval.
CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 8 team will unload chassis No. 051 this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. Piquet Jr. has utilized this chassis in competition six times thus far this season (Nashville Superspeedway in April, Texas Motor Speedway in June, Pocono Raceway in July, Chicagoland Speedway in September, Kentucky Speedway in October and Las Vegas Motor Speedway in October). During those six starts, the rookie driver has earned four top-five and four top-10 finishes.
MOST POPULAR DRIVER: Voting is still open for the NASCAR Truck Series Most Popular Driver. 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 November 17. Fans can vote once daily until the end of the contest.
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: 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 last Saturday, October 29. 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.
THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Nelson Piquet Jr.
What are your thoughts on racing at Texas Motor Speedway?
“The race at Texas Motor Speedway should be a good one for the No. 8 team. I have done quite well at the intermediate-style tracks so far this season and I’m hoping that continues with this race. With the progress the team has made this season along with the knowledge I have gained, I think we have a good chance of earning a finish we will be quite happy with. I enjoy racing at Texas and I’m excited to see what kind of outcome we end the race with.”
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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