Former Formula One driver Nelson Piquet Jr., at the center of the “Crashgate” scandal that rocked the Renault team last year, has announced that he intends to leave the sport to try his hand at the world of NASCAR. According to the Associated Press, Piquet Jr. posted an update to his Web page on Tuesday that said 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.  – the son of former World Driving Champion Nelson Piquet – admitted to crashing his car on purpose on team orders in order to help teammate Fernando Alonso win the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. This claim led to the Renault team being suspended from the sport for two years and the team’s top executives leaving in disgrace.

However, Piquet Jr. did not mention if he had interest from a particular NASCAR team, and the majority of spots on top teams have already been sewn up ahead of next month’s season-opening Daytona 500.

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