Kevin Harvick Inc.’s impending closure is leaving a very uncertain future for Ron Hornaday and many of the team’s employees. But Nelson Piquet Jr., driver of the KHI #8 Chevy, knows he will be in a NASCAR racecar or truck of some form next season. Piquet Jr. brought sponsors Qualcomm, Bozzano, Jontex, Autotrac, and Tagg to almost every race this year and has funding in place for a ride next season. He says that his future, right now, is up to the highest bidder. “It’s down to Turner [Motorsports], Penske [Racing], Kyle Busch [Motorsports], and Eddie Sharp [Racing],” Piquet told News/Talk WSB after the Truck race at Talladega. “Maybe a little bit less Eddie, because he doesn’t have [a] Nationwide [team] and we are planning on doing part of the Nationwide Series next year.” KBM is expanding to the Nationwide Series next season and will keep its Truck Series team intact. Penske Racing already has announced that Sam Hornish Jr. will almost certainly run full-time for them next season and does have the full-time No. 22 team that Brad Keselowski has run with most of the past two seasons. Turner Motorsports says it will run three full-time Nationwide Series teams in 2012, two of which will have a rotation of different drivers. And Turner Motorsports also plans to field at least two Truck Series teams in 2012. If Ricky Carmichael leaves Turner Motorsports or the TM decides to field an additional NCWTS, both of which are uncertain, then there would be an open spot for Piquet Jr. to run both full-time in the NCWTS and part-time in the NNS for Turner Motorsports. Piquet sits 11th in the Truck Series standings, with four top 5s, eight top 10s, but five DNFs in 22 races. He ran a partial Truck Series schedule in 2010 and came to NASCAR after a season and half in Formula 1 that produced one podium finish in 28 races.(WSBradio.com)(10-23-2011)
