Christmas came early for Nelson Piquet Jr. and he got one of the best gifts in NASCAR: a full-time Camping World Truck Series ride.
Even more than a full-time ride would be the team it comes with, Kevin Harvick Inc one of the best teams in the series. Piquet Jr. impressed owners Kevin and DeLana Harvick when he made five starts in 2010 and earned three top fives.
More impressive were the results came while driving for two different teams. His career best finish to date came in the season-opening race at Daytona, a sixth place.
“In five starts in the Truck series this season, he not only gained valuable seat time but proved himself by getting some solid finishes,” said Harvick. “We are excited to have Nelson as a part of our Truck series program as he takes another step forward in his career.”
Driving for KHI should do nothing but send Piquet Jr.’s career off the map.
KHI plans to field three trucks in 2011, Piquet Jr., whose running for Rookie of the Year honors but doesn’t yet have an announced crew chief, sponsor or truck number, and Ron Hornaday Jr. who has won two of his four championships with KHI. The third team’s lineup has yet to be announced.
In 2010 a KHI truck won seven races with four different drivers.
The equipment being put under Piquet Jr. couldn’t be better. Relying on the experience and knowledge of Hornaday Jr. as a teammate will be invaluable in the learning curve for Piquet Jr., who admitted that teammates played a part in his decision to sign with the team.
“You learn the most when you have guy that is really good, has a lot of experience next to you,” said Piquet Jr.
Having already shown he can finish races and finish well, it’s not a far stretch in believing he’ll be a contender. Some have even said they believe he’ll win. The learning curve of NASCAR from Formula 1, bumping and rubbing, as well as setting up a truck will be steep, as Piquet Jr. acknowledged, and speaking the same language with his crew chief is something he’s worried about.
He’s confident on his feedback, however.
The move is big for KHI for another reason as they take a step in a different direction with their program. The norm has been to see Sprint Cup Series drivers such as Harvick himself, Clint Bowyer or even Ryan Newman driving KHI Nationwide or Truck machines.
Now, more of a developmental approach is being taken, much like some in the NNS. JR Motorsports has had drivers such as Martin Truex Jr. and Brad Keselowski graduate from their company to bigger and better things. Even Michael Waltrip Racing has taken chances on young drivers trying to make it in the sport.
Kyle Busch attempted to do the same in the Truck series last season when he put Taylor Malsam and Brian Ickler a shot in his trucks before lack of sponsorship forced him to shut down one of his teams.
But, here stands KHI who has time and time again proven to be an organization to beat. With Piquet Jr. the next NASCAR star will be groomed under their banner. What KHI can do for a driver isn’t hard to find, look no further than Elliott Sadler.
After announcing his departure from Richard Petty Motorsports, there were some whispers that Sadler wouldn’t be returning to Sprint Cup action and there were doubts of where he would land. His career, after a 2004 season where he won two races and finished ninth in points, had gone south.
In July at Pocono, Sadler got behind the wheel of a KHI truck and his life changed in 55 laps. He won the pole, led the most laps and won the race. In victory lane he was in near tears when talking about sitting at home and wondering if he would ever win again.
In November, Sadler and Harvick announced a multi-year deal for Sadler to run a KHI car the NNS. When Sadler woke up the next day he said it felt like the start of the rest of his life, knowing he was going to be competitive and have fun again racing.
KHI helped save his career and made him relevant again. He too is expected to be a contender. Piquet Jr. is next in line to feel Sadler’s emotion and he knows KHI is going to give him that chance.
“My choice was to go for the best team,” said Piquet Jr. during the announcement. “I think the way the whole team being very confident, the whole team being very well structured together and I think the group of people they have just gave me that little edge more of wanting to sign something with them.”
The Brazilian then said KHI deserved credit for taking a chance on him.
“I don’t know if they ever had one [a Brazilian driver],” he said, “I think I’m one of the first ones. I need to thank them for trusting me, accepting me into the team and hopefully we can build up a good relationship together and stay together for a long time.”
When asked about his goals for 2011, Piquet Jr. said that wanting to compete for the championship might be too optimistic, but reminded never say never.
“I think if I get the hang of it, if I get involved with a good crew chief, if all the parts really fit in together really well then we can even think about talking about the championship,” he said.
“My goal really is to be Rookie of the Year, win a few races and be 100 percent prepared to win the championship in 2012.”
