What's to become of Nelson Piquet Junior?

In the wake of the Crashgate Affair, the Brazilian media are claiming that former Renault driver Nelson Piquet Junior is weighing up a switch to NASCAR racing. He thinks it unlikely that his involvement in the race-fixing scandal will permit him to get back into Formula One. "I did the sport a service but I ended up as the fall guy," said the Brazilian in a TV interview in his home country. "My career is finished. No-one was punished more harshly than me." He offered his apologies to all F1 racing fans but regretted that he couldn't undo what had been done.

Shunned by the F1 paddock, he now fancies his chances with Team Red Horse in the Camping World Truck Series. Apparently, he has already had a trial run, and his first public outing will come on 12th October at the Rockingham Speedway in North Carolina. Incidentally, Jacques Villeneuve pursued a similar course of action to obtain the necessary licences to launch his NASCAR career and compete in the Sprint Cup series – albeit without much success.