Nelson Piquet Jr. announced his surprise signing with EuroNASCAR team Alumitec Racing, confirming the Brazilian’s return to NASCAR after a decade.
Alumitec Racing is going all guns blazing for the upcoming 2026 NASCAR Euro Series season. The Canadian team announced on 23 March that Nelson Piquet Jr. will be driving the team’s No. 48 car in the V8GP division this year.
Piquet Jr. will therefore make his debut in the NASCAR Euro Series, acting as the teammate of Gianmarco Ercoli who will stay in the No. 11 Ford for a second season.
It is set to be his first NASCAR ride in a decade, having last competed in the O’Reilly Series with Biagi-DenBeste Racing in a one-off at Mid-Ohio in 2016.
“I’m very excited to join Alumitec Racing,” said the 40-year old to nascar.eu. “Competing in Europe has always been a meaningful challenge for me, and the NASCAR Euro Series brings together a level of competition that genuinely excites me.”
“The team has shown strong performance and determination, and it’s clear they are fully committed to winning. I’m looking forward to working with everyone and fighting for victories and the championship this season.”
Piquet Jr. is one of motorsport’s true journeymen drivers, having tasted virtually everything that is on offer.
Following the footsteps of his father Nelson Sr., Piquet Jr. made it to Formula One in 2008 after finishing runner-up in the 2006 GP2 season.
His time in F1, however, is mostly remembered for his involvement in Crashgate, the incident in the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix where Piquet Jr. was ordered to deliberately crash his Renault R28 to help teammate Fernando Alonso score his first win of the season.
After being sacked by Renault for numerous reasons in 2009, in part due to speaking out about Crashgate, he made a surprise switch to stock car racing.
He raced in various NASCAR divisions from 2010 to 2013, with his best year coming in 2012 where he scored three national series wins. Two of those wins came on the Michigan and Las Vegas ovals, a rare feat for NASCAR’s international drivers.
Piquet Jr. then left NASCAR in 2014 to join the then all-new Formula E championship, where he secured his legacy by becoming Formula E’s inaugural world champion.
Since then, Piquet Jr. has gone on to compete in WEC, ELMS, Global RallyCross, GTWC Sprint and Stock Car Pro Series. The latter is where Piquet Jr. currently competes, being signed as part of Scuderia Bandeiras for the 2026 season.
Piquet Jr. also competes in TCR South America for 2026, where he’s signed as part of Honda Racing South America’s factory TCR team.
Piquet Jr.’s wealth of experience ultimately became the reason why Alumitec team boss Alain Lord Mounir signed the Brazilian for the 2026 EuroNASCAR season.
“Last year we finished second in the championship and this year we are putting every effort, every resource, and every piece of energy into winning it,” said Lord Mounir to nascar.eu.
“Nelson’s experience in Formula E, NASCAR, and international racing makes him a perfect fit for our program. Together with Gianmarco Ercoli, we have a driver lineup capable of fighting for the championship.”
There is, however, something that was not mentioned in Piquet Jr.’s announcement.
The date of EuroNASCAR’s 2026 Finals at Circuit Zolder – 17-18 October – clashes with Round 10 of the 2026 Stock Car Pro Series season at Autódromo Internacional Ayrton Senna in Goiânia.
World of EuroNASCAR is attempting to contact Alumitec Racing to get a word on Piquet Jr.’s participation plans for this exact weekend.
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