O GRANDE RETORNO (THE BIG RETURN): This weekend Nelson Piquet Jr. will return to Nashville Superspeedway for his second career start at the 1.33-mile track. The Brazilian native heads back to the facility where he and the No. 8 Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) team earned their career-best finish in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, coming in second during the Bully Hill Vineyards 200 on April 22. Piquet Jr. qualified the Chevrolet Silverado in the fourth position before wheeling his way to the runner-up finish, making him the first Brazilian driver to earn the honor in one of NASCAR’s top three series.
ACHIEVEMENTS IN MUSIC CITY: The KHI stable has made a total of 16 Truck Series starts at the d-shaped oval. Nine different drivers have helped KHI earn impressive statistics that include one win, eight top-five and 11 top-10 finishes while leading 152 laps. Four-time Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday earned KHI’s sole Truck Series victory at Nashville back in 2009.
HEADING HOME: Todd Perryman, mechanic and front tire changer on the No. 8 team, is heading to his hometown as the Truck Series returns to Nashville. “It is definitely nice to be home during the Nashville Superspeedway race,” said Perryman. “I grew up going to late model races at the old Fairgrounds Speedway at Nashville, right down the road from Nashville Superspeedway. It’s a great feeling to be back.”
CHASSIS HISTORY: Crew chief Chris Carrier and the No. 8 KHI crew will unload chassis No. 049 when they return to Nashville Superspeedway. This is the same chassis the team competed with at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway in the beginning of April, where Piquet Jr. secured a top-ten qualifying position, but was relegated to a 30th-place finish after getting caught up in an early-race accident.
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: After qualifying in the tenth position, Nelson Piquet Jr. secured a solid eighth-place finish during the Coca-Cola 200 presented by Hy-Vee at Iowa Speedway last Saturday night during his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start at the Newton, Iowa facility. Piquet Jr. wheeled the No. 8 Bozzano/Jontex Chevrolet Silverado up to the fourth position in the early stages of the race before settling into the eighth position where he remained as the field raced to the checkered flag.
THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Nelson Piquet Jr.
How do you feel about returning to Nashville Superspeedway?
“I’m very excited to head back to Nashville. Every week the team continues to get better and better, so heading back to the track where we got our best finish gives me a lot of confidence. The guys at KHI continue to bring fast trucks to the track, and I know we can win. As we head into this weekend, I feel like we have a great combination to finally win a race.”
THOUGHTS FROM THE PIT BOX: Chris Carrier
What are the major characteristics of Nashville Superspeedway?
“Nashville is one of the smaller “intermediate” style tracks we compete at. With the concrete surface and high banking there is a lot of grip which Nelson seemed to adapt well to the last time we were there. The actual racing groove is very narrow, so this is sure to be an intense race. ”
What are you looking forward to about racing at Nashville?
“Nelson earned his best Truck Series career finish at this track back in April. We had a good truck, and our entire program continues to get better every race, so we’re feeling very confident heading into this event. We also have a crew member Todd Perryman who is from the Nashville area, so there is a little extra pressure to perform well when you’re in front of family and friends. Nashville is such a great area with wonderful race fans; I’m excited to go back.”
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.