Nelson Piquet career. Piquet is currently retired and runs several businesses in Brazil. He also manages his sons Nelson Piquet Jr. and Pedro Piquet, who are also professional racing drivers. Piquet was born in Rio de Janeiro, then the capital of Brazil, the son of Estácio Gonçalves Souto Maior, a Brazilian physician. His father moved his family to the new capital, Brasília, in 1960 and became Minister for Health in João Goulart's government (1961–64). Piquet had two brothers, Alexis, and Geraldo, and a sister Genusa. Piquet was the youngest of the children. Piquet started kart racing at the age of 14, but
Nelson Piquet Jr. When asked whether the test could lead to a NASCAR drive next season, Piquet said it was not the plan. However, he announced that he would race in NASCAR in 2010—albeit without specifying which series—during the following January. Piquet drove in the Camping World Truck Series with Red Horse Racing, and made his stock car debut in the ARCA RE/MAX Series at Daytona International Speedway driving the #6 Toyota for ARCA powerhouse Eddie Sharp Racing. In his first truck race, Piquet finished 6th, the first Brazilian driver to finish in the top ten in the series' history. Piquet then announced