Piquet Aims for NASCAR Future

Nelson Piquet has every right to be confident about his future in motor racing. However, his awaited return to racing will not be expected in Formula One - as most team principals admitted they wouldn't hire the Brazilian driver after the famous crash gate - but in the North American premier racing series NASCAR.

According to some reports in the US, Nelsinho will be looking to follow the footsteps of former F1 racer Juan Pablo Montoya into the famous NASCAR series.

"Piquet is headed to Mooresville, North Carolina, where he will reportedly have a seat fitting for the Red Horse team's Toyota Tundra racer. It is said that Piquet will test for the team on October 12, and hopes to progress to NASCAR's premier Sprint Cup series by 2012," said a report from the GMM news agency.

The team is currently competing inside the NASCAR's 3rd class, the Camping World Truck Series. Usually, for a young driver with no experience in stock car racing but showing impressive progress, the expected progression into the Sprint Cup Series - NASCAR's premier class series - will last at least 2 years.

After learning the basics in the Truck Series, most drivers graduate into the Nationwide Series. With the proper amount of sponsorship and plenty of good results in his CV, Piquet could indeed debut in the Sprint Cup Series from as early as 2012.

As far as his F1 future goes, Toyota's president John Howett was the one to echo most of the team principals' thoughts perfectly.

"I think on his performance, to be honest, disregarding the (Singapore) issue, I probably would not give him a drive and I would probably be further influenced in that decision by what took place," said Howett.