LAS VEGAS (October 17, 2011) – Nelson Piquet Jr. and the No. 8 Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) team headed out west with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for the Smith’s 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Starting from the seventh position, the Brazilian native overcame front-end damage, a pit road penalty and a two-lap deficit to cross the finish line sixth. The top-10 finish earned Piquet Jr. honors of being the highest-finishing rookie driver of the race.
Piquet Jr. wasted no time advancing his position as the field came to full speed at the start of the race, moving into the sixth spot by the time the first caution of the day fell on lap three for an accident in turn four. Being early in the race, the team made the decision to stay on track allowing their driver to restart fifth on lap six.
During the restart, the rookie driver was shuffled back to the eighth position. Piquet Jr. had just moved into seventh when the yellow flag was displayed for a second time on lap 13 for debris. The No. 8 truck remained on track during the caution, maintaining his seventh position for the lap 15 restart.
As the field resumed green-flag racing, the driver was shuffled back into the 11 spot. The team elected to visit pit road for fuel only when the third caution of the day fell on lap 23 for an accident on the frontstretch. The quick stop positioned Piquet Jr. in the fifth spot when the field returned to green-flag racing on lap 28.
Back on track, the fourth caution, and first red flag, soon followed when a multi-truck accident broke out on lap 31. The No. 8 Qualcomm Fleet Solutions machine came down pit road for the team to assess front-end damage the truck sustained after Piquet Jr. scraped the outside wall to avoid making contact with the wrecking trucks. The crew also changed four tires and filled the truck with fuel. While on pit road, NASCAR officials informed the No. 8 team that they would receive a penalty for visiting pit road before it was open and would restart the race from the tail end of the longest line in the 20th position. Knowing they would not lose any additional spots on track, the team brought their driver down pit road for a second time during the caution to top off on fuel before the lap 35 restart.
As the field returned to full speed, the young driver worked his way forward, moving up to 11th by the time the fifth caution flag waved on lap 42 for another accident on the frontstretch. Piquet Jr. remained on track and gained valuable track position as he lined his No. 8 Chevrolet up in second for the restart on lap 45. Piquet Jr. was shuffled back during the restart, settling into seventh by the time the yellow flag was displayed on lap 48 for a multi-truck accident in turn four. The team called their driver to pit road for a fuel-only stop, leaving Piquet Jr. to restart 13th when the green flag waved on lap 51.
The field ran 10 green-flag laps before a seventh caution came for an accident in turn two. The team opted to remain on track and restarted the race on lap 63 in the fifth position. Piquet Jr. slid back to seventh by lap 74 and alerted his team that his Chevrolet Silverado was becoming quite tight on the exit of the turns. The team reminded their driver to utilize his brake fans to help combat the tight-handling condition his truck was developing. With the information from this team, the driver was able to pick up spots moving into fourth by lap 95.
As the laps ticked away, scheduled green-flag pit stops began to cycle through the field. The No. 8 team called their driver to pit road on lap 102 for four tires and fuel. While on pit road, the team received a second pit road penalty for missing lug nuts and was forced to come back down pit road and fix the issue. The penalty placed the team in the 15th position, two laps down.
Back on track, Piquet Jr. was on a mission to overcome the setback and climb back through the field. Running lap times half a second faster than the leader, the driver was able to race his way to being only one lap down by lap 115. The No. 8 truck was scored in the 13th position when the eighth caution fell on lap 117 for debris. Remaining on track during the caution, Piquet Jr. was able to restart 13th on lap 121.
The field was slowed for a ninth time on lap 124 for a multi-truck accident. Piquet Jr. stayed on track during the caution laps restarting the race from the 14th spot. The driver moved forward working his way into 11th when the tenth and final caution of the day waved for an accident in turn two with 10 laps remaining in the race. Piquet Jr. received the Lucky Dog, allowing the No. 8 Chevrolet to restart the race on the lead lap in the ninth position on lap 138. During the final laps, the rookie driver powered his way forward and when the checkered flag waved, crossing the finish line sixth.
The No. 8 KHI team will head to Talladega Superspeedway for the Truck Series event on October 22. To catch the action live, tune in to SPEED at 4:00 p.m. ET and listen to MRN at 3:45 p.m. ET.
Thoughts form the Driver – Nelson Piquet Jr.:
“I can’t say enough about my team and how hard they worked today. We had a few set-backs during the race, but the guys never gave up and we were able to earn a pretty solid finish. We are still looking for that first win, but with a team like this I’m sure we’ll get one by the end of the season.”
###