Nelson Piquet, Jr. Humbled by ARCA Racing Series Debut
Having trouble viewing this email? Click here http://campaign.constantcontact.com/render?v=001eC34p4XD07-iox8p0oeM-gHXCkgdXSeormL6Ac1tQmIdaAa_K0bRH379kGUN9ZhMWKZetDQwCsLJnADL3iubiuNgIMnygR23k6OCDKVaFLZsY_OnO4rx6Q%3D%3D ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nelson Piquet, Jr. Humbled by ARCA Racing Series Debut Formula One Driver Excited For NASCAR Debut, Ready to Learn DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (Wednesday, February 10, 2010) - Formula One driver Nelson Piquet, Jr., was disappointed by his stock car racing debut in the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards but recognizes the incidents in the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 were all part of the learning curve when racing a 3,400 lb. stock car. The driver of the No. 6 Eddie Sharp Racing Toyota experienced a strong start, but late-race incidents relegated Piquet, Jr. to a disappointing 27th place finish. "Running the ARCA race was a great education for me," said Piquet, Jr. "There are very few similarities between open-wheel and stock cars, and that was evident to me during the first practice." Piquet, Jr. practiced 20th fastest in what was ultimately the only session of the weekend, earning a best time of 50.004 seconds (179.986 MPH). Piquet, Jr. picked up speed in qualifying on Friday afternoon, laying down a lap time of 49.966 seconds and earning a 7th place starting position in the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200. Unfortunately, rain washed out the Happy Hour session later that evening, which was supposed to allow competitors the opportunity to draft, stealing valuable track time from the ARCA rookie. For the son of three-time Formula One Series Champion Nelson Piquet, the first opportunity to experience drafting at 200 MPH was when the green flag waved at Daytona International Speedway, forcing the 24-year-old to learn quickly, surrounded by 42 other racecars. For much of the race, Piquet, Jr. remained at the front of the pack, running in the top-5 or just outside, while his competitors got caught up in multi-car wrecks and pit road mishaps. After a serious wreck brought out the red flag for more than 20 minutes, Piquet, Jr. was unable to restart the No. 6 ESR Toyota when the field returned to yellow. Forced to restart from the back of the pack, Piquet, Jr. once again made his way into the top-5. Unfortunately, as laps wound down and racing got more heated, the Brazilian driver was involved in two incidents: Piquet, Jr. made contact with nine-time series champion, Frank Kimmel, which ultimately look Kimmel out of the race, and was involved in a late-race spin with Danica Patrick. As a result of the incidents, he slipped back to 27th. Piquet, Jr. will get another chance at Daytona International Speedway when he returns this weekend for his NASCAR debut in the Camping World Truck Series with Red Horse Racing. Piquet, Jr. hopes to make the transition from open wheel to stock car races and will race in selected ARCA and Camping World Truck Series races during the 2010 season. Ultimately, Piquet, Jr. felt good about his performance, despite the disappointing finish and hopes to utilize his experience from the ARCA race when he returns this weekend. "I had a solid weekend, but unfortunately, drafting practice was rained-out, so my first experience running side-by-side was in the race," said Piquet, Jr. "I apologize to anyone I made contact with this weekend. I learned a lot, and I will take that knowledge back to Daytona for the Truck Series race this weekend. The race was very exciting, and I had such a great time participating in my first ARCA event. I am very dedicated to doing what ever it takes to be successful in stock car racing." "I have realistic expectations, and I know that this kind of racing is not easy," he continued. "I have a good team and good people behind me whom I am relying on to help me with my development. My goal is to complete all the laps and continue to gain experience." Piquet, Jr.'s spotter, Mike Calinoff, expressed his confidence in the driver's ability. "I'm very proud of what Nelson was able to accomplish this weekend. We had a few incidents in the ARCA race, but he clearly showed just how talented he is in a race car. It's going to take time for him to get used to the heavy stock cars, but I have no doubt that he can successfully make the transition." Piquet, Jr. returns to Daytona International Speedway in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on Friday, Feb 12. The NextEra Energy Resources 250 will be broadcast on SPEED. RECAP: Date: February 6, 2010 Track: Daytona International Speedway Event Name: Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 Start: 7th Finish: 27th Laps Led: 0 NEXT ON SCHEDULE: Date: February 12, 2010 Track: Dover International Speedway Event Name: NextEra Energy Resources 250 TV: SPEED, 7:30 p.m. EST Radio: MRN, 8:00 p.m. EST For more information, please visit www.npiquet.com [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103030141850&s=420&e=001mBH8_lbjyCyMy9MzgwuqrRTnI8YMjsipdrzpzev_96plgEN1JvGgt4jOryrIApDOwceftzgumEQxoead7gp8oCXRFQwdunrYVD3SX8d6aS7w4YOwfHImTg==]. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ About Activ8 Communications Activ8 Communications, based in Mooresville, North Carolina, specializes in public relations, marketing strategies, brand development and sponsor activation. With focus on NASCAR public relations and relationship building, Activ8 creates unique identities and connections for the drivers and clients under its umbrella. For more information about Activ8 Communications, visit www.goactiv8.com. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ activ8 communications Jessica Trippy Public Relations Manager 704.664.5900 jtrippy@goactiv8.com [mailto:jtrippy@goactiv8.com] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ quick links visit activ8's website [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103030141850&s=420&e=001mBH8_lbjyCy_1DSea9UBCVjIcVyX6GgdL_x0sJpwF29SnMmeTXBgRQSg3SFvMS8WEgl1Kff0U5aPvcUcf-5GMnQfciNnc0TpAWIJUpQL7RP4NhvO4sYDRA==] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Forward email http://ui.constantcontact.com/sa/fwtf.jsp?m=1102611509734&ea=submit@theautochannel.com&a=1103030141850 This email was sent to submit@theautochannel.com by jtrippy@goactiv8.com. Update Profile/Email Address http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?v=001RgvbKVLa7a5vzr_r1mKaMNm3kbWbJ8PdhVEHqAFfXJAOUoYTLnFz2Q%3D%3D&p=oo Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe(TM) http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?v=001RgvbKVLa7a5vzr_r1mKaMNm3kbWbJ8PdhVEHqAFfXJAOUoYTLnFz2Q%3D%3D&p=un Privacy Policy: http://ui.constantcontact.com/roving/CCPrivacyPolicy.jsp Email Marketing by Constant Contact(R) www.constantcontact.com activ8 communications | 532 Patterson Avenue — Suite 105 | Mooresville | NC | 28115