Piquet Jr. Fights Loose Race Car En Route to a 16th-Place Finish at Auto Club Speedway

Making his first career start at Auto Club Speedway in the NASCAR Nationwide Series on Saturday, Nelson Piquet Jr. looked to gain momentum in the Royal Purple 300 before heading into the upcoming off weekends. Piquet Jr. and his No. 30 Qualcomm Chevy team started the weekend off strong by qualifying fifth on the two-mile oval. Fighting a loose car most of the day, Piquet Jr. was able to drive his Qualcomm Chevy to a 16th place finish.

 

During the lone practice session on Friday afternoon, crew chief Chris Carrier and the No. 30 Turner Scott Motorsports team worked to find speed for the Qualcomm Chevy. Their hard work paid off as Piquet Jr. and his team had their best qualifying effort of the young season, starting the 300-mile race on Saturday from the fifth position.

 

Shortly after the green flag dropped, Piquet Jr. radioed to the crew that he was battling a loose race car. During the first caution of the day, on lap 35, Carrier called Piquet Jr. down pit road to change four tires, add fuel and make a chassis adjustment to fix the loose condition the No. 30 Qualcomm Chevy was experiencing. A few laps after the restart, Piquet Jr. told his crew that the car was still too loose and he was working to find a line he could run until the next caution. Working under long green-flag conditions, Piquet and team found themselves in the 18th position at the halfway mark of the race.

 

Still getting accustomed to the two-mile oval, Piquet Jr. relied on his Qualcomm team to get adjusted to the different racing grooves on the track during the second half of the afternoon. The final pit stop came on Lap 110, after a spin in turn 4 brought out the final caution of the day. Piquet Jr. brought his Qualcomm Camaro down to the attention of the crew to make chassis adjustments and added fuel only, gaining the No. 30 Qualcomm team three spots. During the remaining portion of the race, Piquet Jr. would turn top-10 lap speeds en route to a 16th-place finish.  

 

“After a rough week last weekend in Bristol, our Qualcomm crew put in a solid effort this week here in California,” Piquet Jr. said. “With this being my first start at Auto Club Speedway, I feel like I learned a lot that I can apply to the rest of the year. My Turner Scott Motorsports team and I will use the upcoming off-weekends to get prepared for a strong race at Texas.”

 

TSM PR