Former Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr. says he’s trading F1 for NASCAR in 2010

Piquet Jr. says he’s switching to NASCAR

MADRID — Former Renault Formula One driver Nelson Piquet Jr., who last year triggered a scandal by revealing he deliberately crashed his car to help a teammate, is moving to NASCAR in 2010.

Piquet Jr. said Tuesday on his Web site that his “first 18 months in F1 did not go as planned. I have decided to focus on something different and have chosen to take a route in America.”

Piquet Jr. hasn’t raced since being fired by Renault in August after 28 races in which his best finish was second at the 2008 German GP. He did not reveal which team he would race for but says more details will come soon.

The 24-year-old Brazilian driver, the son of three-time F1 champion Nelson Piquet, admitted crashing his car at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix on team orders to help Fernando Alonso win the race.

He retired from 11 races and constantly accused the French team of favoring teammate Alonso.

“I have spent the last few months carefully evaluating my options for this year,” Piquet Jr. said on his Web page. “NASCAR is hugely challenging and nobody has ever come in as an outsider before and gone on to win it — it will be the ultimate challenge. This will be an awesome new challenge for me, and a healthy one.”