Looks like Nelson Piquet jnr going to NASCAR

[patnicholls]

Unconfirmed details yet but on his website:

http://www.npiquet.com/news.asp?NewsID=365

Presumably he's going to start at the bottom in ARCA etc like Scott Speed did (I think?), obviously the varying success of the recent open-wheel guys coming over/in from IndyCar shows how much work he'll have to do - not to mention his tainted reputation.

[BobbyC]

Trying both ARCA and Camping World Truck or even Camping World East would make sense.

NASCAR may put Piquet on probation initially because of FIA regulations, as NASCAR is an ACCUS member, for "intentionally causing a caution" (which is worth a lap penalty or even a fine and points penalty),

[Lee Roy]

I always thought that the FIA made waaaaaaaay to big a deal out of that incident.

[inimitablestoo]

Would be a good way to exorcise those pickup truck demons, having been hit by one at the start of a Formula 3 race in 2003...

[stephenw_us]

I always thought that the FIA made waaaaaaaay to big a deal out of that incident.

Then again, F1 isn't a full contact sport like NASCAR.

[harvick#1]

I always thought that the FIA made waaaaaaaay to big a deal out of that incident.

Flabio fixed a race for his team to win at any cost.

I'd say that is a huge deal. it was basically just about the same thing that Ferrari did in Austria to let Schumi pass Rubens on the final corner of the last lap.

Fixing races should be grounds for a life ban for any series

[Mark in Oshawa]

Flabio fixed a race for his team to win at any cost.

I'd say that is a huge deal. it was basically just about the same thing that Ferrari did in Austria to let Schumi pass Rubens on the final corner of the last lap.

Fixing races should be grounds for a life ban for any series

What Ferrari did was insulting, but it isn't the same as intentionally crashing and dumping debris everywhere and putting marshals and rescue people out on a live race track for an accident designed to ensure a win. BIG difference...

Team orders have been around for years in F1, you can whine about it, but it is legal, just like John Force's laying down to make sure his daughter made the NHRA "chase" was legal. Smelly and maybe not the best sportsmanship, but not unique.

[Lee Roy]

Give a big points penalty or a couple of race suspesion, but the FIA literally made a Federal Case out of it.

Sorry guys, but I'm afraid that's a case of taking yourself waaaaaaaay to seriously.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Give a big points penalty or a couple of race suspesion, but the FIA literally made a Federal Case out of it.

Sorry guys, but I'm afraid that's a case of taking yourself waaaaaaaay to seriously.

Maybe...but the FIA can mess up the inconsequential while ignoring real problems. IT is their way.

I don't hold much against Piquet. They fined him and it is done. Now he races in Truck, and we shall see how serious he is. I think he has no clue of what he in for. The culture of F1 and the mindset of the racers from that enviroment just are in for a shock when they realize in NASCAR that you have to play the fan game, you have to do the media game, you have to learn to communicate and not let the telemetry tell the story the crew chief and engineers. It is a different world, and most of these guys just are not mentally prepared for it. JPM made the transition because Chip Ganassi had him in Indycar where the racing "culture" is similar to NASCAR for driver conduct.

[Lee Roy]

JPM made the transition because Chip Ganassi had him in Indycar where the racing "culture" is similar to NASCAR for driver conduct.

JPM made the transition because he's one of the great race car drivers of the last 10-12 years.

He made Indy-Car his "bitch". I remember seeing him at Nazareth and Cleveland during his rookie year in CART (both of which he won). He was amazing. He also did great in Formula One. I had no doubts that he would do well in NASCAR too.

[stephenw_us]

Give a big points penalty or a couple of race suspesion, but the FIA literally made a Federal Case out of it.

Sorry guys, but I'm afraid that's a case of taking yourself waaaaaaaay to seriously.

How serious do you think the girl in the Talledega stands having her jaw fractured is?

Or how about the death of a Marshal from a flying F1 wheel in Monza some years back?

[Mark in Oshawa]

JPM made the transition because he's one of the great race car drivers of the last 10-12 years.

He made Indy-Car his "bitch". I remember seeing him at Nazareth and Cleveland during his rookie year in CART (both of which he won). He was amazing. He also did great in Formula One. I had no doubts that he would do well in NASCAR too.

True for sure, but his mental focus went from the stuck up and cloistered world of f1 to the open press and garage atmosphere of NASCAR. A lot of those Euroweenies never have had to play that game and be nice to everyone 24/7. JPM is a huge talent, but his time with Ganassi in Indycar gave him the exposure to the North American racing culture, and that was one less thing for him to have to get used to.

[NickFalzone]

One could argue that JPM's equipment wasn't so great. But he was still getting mid-pack stuff, and he was doing BADLY for awhile there. Other than his win at Sonoma, he was running very mediocre for what, 2 full seasons? Is Danica willing to do 3-4 full seasons of running 25th or worse before she maybe gets the hang of it? Will sponsors/fans be ok with that? Hornish, 2 full seasons in, in mid-pack or better equipment, is still barely hanging into the top 35. It's just hard for me to imagine how this is going to play out in a positive way.

[Lee Roy]

How serious do you think the girl in the Talledega stands having her jaw fractured is?

Or how about the death of a Marshal from a flying F1 wheel in Monza some years back?

Well, I guess there's always tiddly-winks for the weak at heart.

I think the case was about "rigging" the race, not about the wreck itself.

[patnicholls]

It's clear that Piquet will have to seriously knuckle down and get on with the task of rebuilding his reputation - just keep quiet and get to work on learning how to drive a Truck or whatever he ends up in. Obviously he's going to be a high-profile driver in a low(-ish) profile series [I've never seen it in the UK, though the home market will clearly be different]

The sad thing is that for all the F1 shenanigans, he actually has some talent - in GP2 (the single-seater series before F1) he actually one ran L. Hamilton close for the 2006 title. He has a reputation as something of a slow learner though - he was a sophomore driver when Hamilton was a rookie - and similarly took his time (relatively speaking for drivers who make it to F1) in some other development series along the way with some lurid rumours of extra test sessions appearing just after the Singapore story came out. Mind you, he should have ample time to get to grips with the vehicle over in the States.

[Lee Roy]

. . . . Euroweenies . . . . . .

That's not very nice.

[Mark in Oshawa]

It's clear that Piquet will have to seriously knuckle down and get on with the task of rebuilding his reputation - just keep quiet and get to work on learning how to drive a Truck or whatever he ...............Mind you, he should have ample time to get to grips with the vehicle over in the States.

No testing on NASCAR sanctioned tracks where the top 3 series competes means he will be living at Rockingham NC going round the 1 mile oval there and the .5 mile "Little Rock" test track. It isn't as easy for a new guy to come into NASCAR now as it was 2 years ago because you cannot test on the tracks you race on. What he will also learn to do is speak the NASCAR "language" and give good feedback to the crew chief and the like. The telemetry in OW racing is not there. It is all on the seat of the pants feel....

[patnicholls]

True - I was going more for the 'the season is a long one compared to Europe' angle but had forgotten about the testing ban...

[Mark in Oshawa]

True - I was going more for the 'the season is a long one compared to Europe' angle but had forgotten about the testing ban...

He is going to spend a lot of time driving, and even in Truck, I suspect he will travel more miles behind the wheel in NASCAR than he ever did anywhere else, even with limited testing. He will need it too......

[stephenw_us]

Oh goody - another year of sound bites from yet another failed F1 driver talking about how much better NASCAR is than Formula One.

Can't wait - nothing makes my day more than tuning into a NASCAR broadcast listening to endless anti-F1 tinged analysis on why this type of racing is the end all be all...

[nigelred5]

Don't worry, trucks are easy to miss on TV, just quit watching Speed Channel any time other than early sunday mornings to watch F1 and your NASCAR coverage dwindles.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Oh goody - another year of sound bites from yet another failed F1 driver talking about how much better NASCAR is than Formula One.

Can't wait - nothing makes my day more than tuning into a NASCAR broadcast listening to endless anti-F1 tinged analysis on why this type of racing is the end all be all...

The NASCAR bigots love it when f1 guys come over so they can beat their breasts about how big their sport is now, but at the same time cant run down f1 too much, because then it is taking a shot at people who came from f1 as not that talented. No two racing cultures are farther apart, but neither should knock the other. Racing has room for people who like to turn right and left, or just turn left a lot......