Nelson Piquet Jnr has admitted that he could continue his motor-racing career in NASCAR’s pickup truck series.
The Brazilian knows that his chances of gaining another drive in Formula One appear to be slim after the race-fixing controversy at Renault.
Piquet admitted to the FIA that he had been told to deliberately crash his Renault at the 2008 Singapore GP so Spanish team-mate Fernando Alonso could win the race.
The scandal saw team boss Flavio Briatore banned for life, while Renault received a suspended sentence. SkySports
The 24-year-old Brazilian was forced onto the Formula 1 sidelines after being sacked by Renault following the Hungarian Grand Prix in late July and has since being engulfed in the Renault race-fixing scandal.
Piquet now appears to be considering a move to the NASCAR series, with a first stock car test of his career scheduled for next Monday at Rockingham Speedway in North Carolina.
He will test a Toyota Tundra used in NASCAR’s truck category – the US-based series’ third division – with the Red Horse Racing team on the track’s short course, with the test being conducted for Piquet to “evaluate a future career among the NASCAR ranks”.
Piquet will test alongside fellow Brazilian Vitor Meira, who currently races in the IndyCar Series. ITV
Red Horse Racing, which currently fields two entries in the Camping World series, says the test will help both drivers further evaluate their potential future in NASCAR.
Meira says he loves racing Indy Cars and hopes to do it “for as long as I am able.” However, the opportunity to test a NASCAR truck “sounded like fun”.
“It doesn’t mean I’m looking to go NASCAR racing now because my priority is racing with A.J.‘s team in the IndyCar Series,” said Meira, whose season came to an abrupt end after injuring his back in a crash at the Indianapolis 500 this year. TSN.ca
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