FAMILIAR FEELING: For only the second time this season, Nelson Piquet Jr. will compete at a track where he has had a previous race start. Piquet competed at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. during the 2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season, where he overcame an early-race incident to finish 16th. Piquet Jr. hopes to use the knowledge gained last season at the 1.5-mile track this weekend.
KHI AT CHARLOTTE: Since 2004, KHI has made 12 starts at the 1.5-mile quad oval. The organization has earned two wins, seven top-five and eight top-10 finishes. This is one of 10 tracks in the Truck Series circuit in which KHI has not won a pole. Ron Hornaday is credited with both KHI victories at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The first came in 2007 in the No. 33 KHI Chevrolet Silverado, and the second win in 2009.
WELCOME ABOARD: The No. 8 Chevrolet Silverado will sport a new neon red, gray and white paint scheme this weekend with the new sponsors Bozzano and Jontex. Bozzano is a leading healthcare brand in Brazil and offers a full line of personal care products designed specifically for men, such as shaving cream, deodorant and hair care products. Jontex will also be on board the No. 8 Chevrolet Silverado at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and is the leading brand of condom products in Brazil.
CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 8 team will run the No. 051 chassis from the KHI stable. The team competed with chassis No. 051 at Nashville Superspeedway in April, where Piquet Jr. picked up his career-best qualifying run (4th), and career-best finish (2nd). Earlier this season the truck saw success when KHI teammate Ron Hornaday contended for the win at Phoenix International Raceway. Hornaday piloted the No. 33 Sherwin-Williams Chevrolet to a third-place finish. He also continued his success with the No. 51 chassis at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway in the No. 33 KHI Chevrolet with a second-place finish.
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: A last-lap incident relegated Nelson Piquet Jr. and the No. 8 Autotrac Chevrolet Silverado team to a 16th-place finish at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. A late-race caution set up a green-white-checkered finish for the Truck Series field. Running in the ninth position when the final green flag waved, Piquet got tangled with the No. 17 of Timothy Peters and No. 13 of Johnny Sauter in turn one on the final lap.
THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Nelson Piquet Jr.
How do you feel going into the race at Charlotte Motor Speedway?
“I’m really looking forward to Charlotte. It is only the second time this season in which we are going to a track that I have already competed. Last season, I learned a lot at this track throughout the entire race, and I’m hoping to take that knowledge and experience to the event this weekend. We had a disappointing finish last weekend at Dover, so I’m looking forward to getting back to the track this weekend and working hard to get a good finish. Everyone on the No. 8 team is working hard, and we are getting closer and closer to our first win.”
THOUGHTS FROM THE PIT BOX: Chris Carrier
What are the major characteristics of Charlotte Motor Speedway?
“Charlotte is an exciting place to be. It is home turf for most of the teams, and there is certain level of excitement with everyone being close to home. With the high-banking and high-speeds, drivers are able to run wide-open for most of the race, and I think that is really going to lend itself well to Nelson’s style. We are going to have two-to-three-wide racing in the multiple grooves for a lot of the event, so I predict an exciting race.”
What are the keys to success at Charlotte?
“The key to success for the No. 8 team is just to remain focused. We are heading into Charlotte for only our second back-to-back race weekend after Dover. Fuel mileage is going to come into play at the track, and there is a lot of downforce. We are going to give Nelson a really great truck. He will run the same one we took to Nashville where he finished second, and we are hoping for a similar result. Charlotte has superspeedway-like emotions, and with a night race in the hometown, it should prove to be exciting.”
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 Erin Sagester at esagester@kevinharvickinc.com
Fast Facts:
Nelson Piquet Jr.
Truck Series results at
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Starts: 1
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Top-5s: 0
Top-10s: 0
Laps Led: 0
Start: 23
Finish: 16
Race Info:
May 20, 2011
Charlotte Motor Speedway
1.5-mile Quad-Oval
N.C. Education Lottery 200
134 Laps / 201 Miles
Broadcast Info:
TV: SPEED will broadcast live at
7:30 p.m.ET
Radio: The Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio – Channel 90 will broadcast live at 7:45 p.m. ET
Truck Specs:
Chassis: 051
Engine: Earnhardt-Childress Racing (ECR)