Piquet to make stock car debut
2010-01-29 10:28
New York - Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet Jnr, who was at the center of a major F1 scandal last year, will make his stock car debut next month at the Daytona International Speedway, he said on Thursday.
Piquet Jnr, son of three-times F1 world champion driver Nelson Piquet, will make his debut in a 200-mile race which will also be the first stock car event for Danica Patrick, the only woman to win an IndyCar event.
Piquet Jnr will drive the No. 6 Toyota car fielded by Eddie Sharp Racing on Feb. 6 in the Automobile Racing Club of America event. ARCA is a minor league with NASCAR-type cars.
"I'm very excited. I can't wait to reach 200 mph side-by-side and rubbing paint," Piquet said in a statement. "The plans for the season are coming together really well ... I can't wait to get out on track."
The 24-year-old Brazilian triggered one of F1's biggest scandals last year after being dropped by his Renault team when he told the sport's governing body he had crashed deliberately in the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix to help team mate Fernando Alonso win.