Championship 4 clinch scenarios heading into Homestead-Miami Speedway

Posted on October 19, 2023October 19, 2023 by Staff Report

With only two races standing in the way of the playoff drivers and a berth into the Championship 4 in Phoenix, we dive into all of the clinching scenarios as all three NASCAR national series converge on Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Kyle Larson has already punched his ticket into the Championship 4 with his win this past weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the Cup Series. Corey Heim’s win at Bristol Motor Speedway puts him at the top spot in the Craftsman Truck Series.

In the Xfinity Series, no driver has been able to lock into the final round in Phoenix. John Hunter Nemechek currently leads the way with a 47-point cushion to the elimination line.

MORE: Current Cup playoff standings | Weekend Schedule: Homestead-Miami

NASCAR Cup Series:

Already Clinched

The following driver has clinched a spot in the four-driver field of the next round: Kyle Larson.

Can clinch via points

If there is a repeat winner or a win by a driver who cannot advance to the next round, the following drivers could clinch by being 56 points above the third winless driver in the standings. The same point requirements listed below would hold true if a new win comes from William Byron or Denny Hamlin.

William Byron: Could only clinch with help
Denny Hamlin: Could only clinch with help

If there is a new winner from Martin Truex Jr. or another winless driver lower in the standings but still eligible to advance to the next round, the following drivers could clinch by being 56 points above the second winless driver in the standings.

William Byron: Could only clinch with help

Can clinch via win

The following drivers would clinch on their win alone:

William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, Chris Buescher, Ryan Blaney

NASCAR Xfinity Series:

Already Clinched

No drivers have clinched a spot in the four-driver field of the next round.

Can clinch via points

If there is a repeat winner or a win by a driver who cannot advance to the next round, the following drivers could clinch by being 56 points above the fourth winless driver in the standings. The same point requirements listed below would hold true if a new win comes from among John Hunter Nemechek, Justin Allgaier or Austin Hill.

John Hunter Nemechek: Could only clinch with help
Justin Allgaier: Could only clinch with help
Austin Hill: Could only clinch with help

If there is a new winner from Cole Custer or another winless driver lower in the standings but still eligible to advance to the next round, the following drivers could clinch by being 56 points above the third winless driver in the standings.

John Hunter Nemechek: Could only clinch with help
Justin Allgaier: Could only clinch with help

Can clinch via win

The following drivers would clinch on their win alone:

John Hunter Nemechek, Justin Allgaier, Austin Hill, Cole Custer, Chandler Smith, Sam Mayer, Sammy Smith, Sheldon Creed

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series:

Already Clinched

The following driver has clinched a spot in the four-driver field of the next round: Corey Heim.

Can clinch via points

If there is a repeat winner or a win by a driver who cannot advance to the next round, the following drivers could clinch by being ahead of the fourth winless driver in the standings. The same point requirements listed below would hold true if a new win comes from among Carson Hocevar, Christian Eckes or Nick Sanchez.

Carson Hocevar: Would clinch with 33 points
Christian Eckes: Would clinch with 46 points (47 points if Sanchez wins)
Nick Sanchez: Would clinch with 53 points
Grant Enfinger: Would clinch with 55 points (would need help if Sanchez wins)
Ben Rhodes: Could only clinch with help
Ty Majeski: Could only clinch with help
Zane Smith: Could only clinch with help

If there is a new winner from Grant Enfinger or another winless driver lower in the standings but still eligible to advance to the next round, the following drivers could clinch by being ahead of the 3rd winless driver in the standings.

Carson Hocevar: Would clinch with 36 points
Christian Eckes: Would clinch with 49 points
Nick Sanchez: Could only clinch with help
Grant Enfinger: Could only clinch with help
Ben Rhodes: Could only clinch with help
Ty Majeski: Could only clinch with help
Zane Smith: Could only clinch with help

Can clinch via win

The following drivers would clinch on their win alone:

Carson Hocevar, Christian Eckes, Nick Sanchez, Grant Enfinger, Ben Rhodes, Ty Majeski, Zane Smith

Posted on October 19, 2023October 19, 2023 by Cameron Richardson

Just three races remain in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season. Three spots are still up for grabs between seven drivers after 2021 Cup Series champion Kyle Larson clinched his Championship 4 spot last weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Now, it’s off to the 305 at all about precision in Homestead-Miami Speedway, but before the action heats up this weekend, get an update on the Round of 8, see trends to watch for Sunday’s 4EVER 400 Presented by Mobil 1 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App), and take note of Goodyear tire info.

HOMESTEAD HISTORY 🌴

Homestead opened in 1995, hosting the Xfinity Series for its first NASCAR points event. The first Cup race was held on Nov. 14, 1999, won by Tony Stewart in his rookie season.

The track was reconfigured from a flat oval to the current progressive banking in the corners in 2003.

From 2002-2019, Homestead hosted the season-ending race in the Cup Series. It oversaw multiple eras of postseason formats from season-long points, the Chase and the current playoff format before the title race was moved to Phoenix Raceway in 2020.

(Via Racing Insights)

TAKING THE HIGH GROUND 🪨

Speaking of that precision at Homestead, the high line is the preferred groove at the South Florida oval due to the progressive banking in all four turns. That plays into the hand of Larson and Tyler Reddick, who’s yet to win at Homestead in the Cup Series but owns two top-five finishes in three career starts.

Martin Truex Jr., who currently sits just two points above the elimination line, has been stellar at the 1.5-mile oval with top-three finishes in four of the last six races. He’ll enter the weekend with momentum after nabbing his first top 10 of the playoffs last Sunday.

Entering the Round of 8, it appeared Chris Buescher would have his back against the wall, with intermediate tracks being the biggest question mark for RFK Racing’s speed, and that was the case at Las Vegas as the No. 17 team finished 11th and no finds themselves 23 points below the elimination line. Buescher has yet to break through at Homestead with no top-10 results in seven starts.

MORE: Racing Insights’ projections for Sunday

📉 TRENDS TO WATCH 📈

— The last seven Homestead races were won by different drivers.

— The last three Homestead races were won by current playoff drivers.

— The driver who led the most laps won the last five Homestead races.

— Martin Truex Jr. was passed for the win in three of the last five Homestead races.

(Via Racing Insights)

CLASSIC HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY RACES 🎥

1999: Homestead hosts first Cup Series race | WATCH

2011: Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards’ two-man race for the championship | WATCH

2016: Johnson wins seventh title amid Champ. 4 chaos | WATCH

2018: Logano wins first Cup championship | WATCH

ON-TRACK SCHEDULE 🗓️

Saturday, Oct. 21

— 9:05 a.m. ET: Practice (NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

— 9:50 a.m. ET: Qualifying NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Sunday, Oct. 22

— 2:30 p.m. ET: 4EVER 400 (NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App)

MORE: Full weekend schedule at Homestead

RULE CHANGES/GOODYEAR TIRE NOTES 🛞

Goodyear will run the same tire setup at Homestead that was used in last year’s playoff race. Homestead is one of the highest tire-wear tracks on the circuit, right up there with the likes of Darlington Raceway. The abrasive track surface leads to a lot of comers and goers throughout the race. This is the same tire setup used at the Coca-Cola 600 and Darlington this season, while the right-side tire itself was used at all other intermediate tracks this season.

Cup teams will be allotted one set of tires for practice, one set for qualifying, and an additional nine sets for Sunday’s race.

(Via Goodyear Racing)

RELATED: See rules changes for 2023

FAN REWARDS 🫵

Fans can get in on the action all season long with NASCAR Fan Rewards, a free program that rewards fans for participating in the action when they watch races and play NASCAR Fantasy.

There’s no cost to join. Fans must be 18 years or older to participate in the program.

Earn points by checking into a race from home or at the track, setting your Fantasy Live lineup, making purchases on the NASCAR.com shop, and more. Points can be redeemed for race tickets, merchandise, and VIP experiences at the track, including pace car rides and waving the green flag at qualifying.

JOIN TODAY

FOLLOW THE RACE 📲

NASCAR Mobile has now added support for fans to “Follow the Race” and access live leaderboard and race information from Live Activities in the current app release (v13.2.0), available now. Android users, we didn’t forget you — the same functionality has been custom-built for Android devices, as well.

How to access Live Activities on iPhones:

Make sure your iOS device has been updated to 16.1 or higher.
Available on the leaderboard of all NASCAR Series races.
Click on the three-dot menu near the top right of the screen.
Select “Follow the Race.”
Swipe up to access the home screen, and you will see the Live Activities at the top.
Lock the device, and you will see Live Activities on the Lock Screen.
To turn it off, simply visit the leaderboard, click the three-dot menu, and “Unfollow the Race.”

ALSO ON NASCAR.COM 💻

Get additional camera views by logging on to NASCAR Drive, where each week, a select number of in-car cameras will be available — as well as a battle cam and an overhead look.

NASCAR has partnered with LiveLike to add fan engagement to the NASCAR Mobile App. Log in to the mobile app during the race for polls, quizzes, the cheer meter, and more — and see instant results from NASCAR fans like you.

Posted on October 18, 2023 by Staff Report

Throughout the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, Advance Auto Parts is spotlighting a series of Home Track Heroes from NASCAR-sanctioned short tracks around the country. Each Home Track Hero, nominated by his or her peers as a result of contributions made to the race track, will have his or her name appear on the C-Post of Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 Team Penske Ford Mustang in a Cup Series Playoff race. Dawn Roemer, the director of promotions and marketing at Bethel Motor Speedway in Swan Lake, New York, is the Home Track Hero whose name will appear on Blaney’s car during the Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead–Miami Speedway.

Dawn Roemer, whose tenure at New York’s Bethel Motor Speedway began as a photographer 13 years ago, goes above and beyond with her involvement in the community and at the race track.

She works in childcare for underprivileged children in the community. She’s also hands-on with benefit drives, including the Adopt-a-Child drive for children during the holiday season and back-to-school supplies drives.

Roemer makes dinner for underprivileged families around the holidays, personally delivering meals before sitting down to eat with her own family.

From helping others in need to providing advice to somebody who may need it, she will do what she can to help with her knowledge, kindness and big heart.

At Bethel Motor Speedway, Roemer has organized events like big wheel races, power wheel races, the St. Jude’s Cancer Awareness Night, and Foster Care and Children’s Home benefit nights, to name a few.

On Saturday nights, she takes charge and moves the show along while lending a hand wherever needed; she does this while still performing her own nightly duties.

From taking food orders when the kitchen is busy to helping with track cleanup — or jumping in a position that may be vacant for the evening — she does it all.

Roemer prepares Bethel’s kitchen specials personally. She’s also not afraid to take on the less-than-desirable jobs when needed. On occasion, she’s even been seen operating the track debris blower.

She’s most often the first to arrive and the last to leave, and those at the track can’t imagine a race night without her.

Posted on October 18, 2023October 26, 2023 by Staff Report

Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200

Martinsville Speedway

Entry list

Posted on October 18, 2023October 19, 2023 by Zach Sturniolo

Kyle Larson is the only driver locked into the Championship 4 who knows he will compete for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series championship on Nov. 5 at Phoenix Raceway.

The seven other drivers left in the Round of 8 are vying for three spots to join him. That fight continues Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), where champions have long been made.

Four drivers sit beneath the provisional elimination heading to South Florida. Surely, a case can be made for each of them to advance to the final round of the postseason, right?

MORE: Latest playoff standings | Homestead-Miami schedule

5. Christopher Bell (-2 to elimination line)

Bell was just about as close as anyone could be to not being on this list. The No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota fell just 0.082 seconds short at Las Vegas, but the door shouldn’t be closed on the only member of the 2022 Championship 4 left. His Homestead numbers aren’t exceptional but certainly, nothing to sneeze at either, with finishes of eight, 20th and 11th in three starts. His walk-off win a season ago at Martinsville launched him into the title race, so there’s no doubt he and crew chief Adam Stevens could work that magic all over again this year.

6. Tyler Reddick (-16)

Reddick was surprisingly never a factor last week at Las Vegas, but the high-line glider seems primed for a great run at Homestead-Miami. No one loves running against the wall quite like Larson or Reddick, and it’s worked in Reddick’s favor in the past. He finished fourth and second in his first two Cup starts at the 1.5-mile track before crashing out last year and claimed each of his two Xfinity Series championships there as well. His first Cup win at the track could come this weekend, which would lock him into the title fight for the first time at the sport’s highest level.

7. Ryan Blaney (-17)

With his Las Vegas points reinstated after NASCAR rescinded its initial disqualification of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford, Blaney enters Homestead with more than a fighting chance to find his path out of the Round of 8 for the first time in his career. This is Blaney’s fifth appearance in the penultimate round of the playoffs. How does he move onto Phoenix this time? It’s not impossible he finds a way to Victory Lane at Homestead. He was running third before pitting with 57 laps left a year ago — but took himself out of contention after an errant downshift spun his No. 12 Ford sideways and caused a caution. His first win of 2023 also came on a 1.5-mile track at Charlotte.

His path to Phoenix is more likely to shine at Martinsville, where he’s earned a 9.5 average finish — his best on any track with three or more starts. Blaney has seven top-fives and nine top-10 finishes in 15 starts at the 0.526-mile oval and has led 377 laps there. He hasn’t led the last one yet, but he’s earned the second-most points of anyone in the Next Gen car at Martinsville, per Racing Insights.

8. Chris Buescher (-23)

In his first deep run in the NASCAR Playoffs, Buescher is easily having the best season of his career. He has not won at either Homestead-Miami or Martinsville, but who’s to say this isn’t the year he breaks through? Buescher showed excellent speed to win at the 2-mile oval at Michigan over the summer and has been excellent on short tracks too, nabbing a 2022 win at Bristol in addition to this year’s triumph at Richmond. Is a walk-off win on the table for Buescher at Martinsville? He only has one top 10 in 23 combined starts at either track, but Buescher has proved any stats from prior seasons don’t necessarily apply this year.

Posted on October 17, 2023October 26, 2023 by Tadd Haislop

Either Ron Silk or Justin Bonsignore will leave Martinsville Speedway on Thursday, Oct. 26 as the 2023 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion. Which is fitting considering those are the drivers who have graced the top of the standings for the vast majority of the season.

Silk and Bonsignore, both already champs on the Tour with Silk taking the title in 2011 and Bonsignore winning in 2018, 2020 and 2021, have battled each other for race wins all year. Each driver has five victories, and they rank first and second in average finish positions among Tour regulars.

Silk, though, has the advantage entering the season-finale at the legendary half-mile paperclip in Southwest Virginia.

The driver of Haydt Yannone Racing’s No. 16 Modified has a 13-point lead over Bonsignore in the standings thanks in large part to the results of the most recent race, the World Series 150 at Connecticut’s Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park on Oct. 8. Silk won the race while Bonsignore, the pole-sitter, slid to a 13th place finish.

That means Bonsignore and his No. 51 Ken Massa Motorsports team need a little help to secure their fourth Modified Tour championship.

Ron Silk, outside, and Justin Bonsignore, inside, lead the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour field at New Hampshire’s Monadnock Speedway on May 6, 2023. (Photo: Nick Grace/NASCAR)

Simply put: If Silk finishes eighth or better at Martinsville, he will clinch the title no matter what Bonsignore does. Should Silk finish ninth or worse, the championship scenarios will open for Bonsignore.

The biggest factor working in Silk’s favor entering the finale is the consistency he’s displayed in 2023. He has 15 top-five finishes in 17 races; his only finishes outside the top five were his seventh-place run at Richmond Raceway in April and his 12th-place effort at New Hampshire’s Monadnock Speedway in September. The latter was the result of a spin early in the event.

Bonsignore, of course, has been just as strong. He has 14 top fives in 17 races and a series-high seven Mayhew Tools Dominator Pole Awards. Silk has zero poles.

Fittingly, all eyes will be on these two competitors as the Whelen Modified Tour season reaches its final laps at Martinsville.

Below are the championship points scenarios based on each driver’s possible finish positions in the finale. Included below the table are the tiebreaker scenarios in the event both drivers end the Martinsville race with the same amount of points.

Ron Silk and Justin Bonsignore at New Jersey’s Wall Stadium Speedway on July 8, 2023. (Photo: Kostas Lymperopoulos/NASCAR)

(The table features 39 positions based on the entry list for the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200.)

Ron Silk vs. Justin Bonsignore: Championship points scenarios for NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race at Martinsville

NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship points tiebreakers

(Via the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour rule book)

17-8 Ties

17-8.1 Championship points

A. In the event two or more drivers or Car Owners have the same number of points (a tie), each driver or Car Owner will be ranked according to the greatest number of 1st place finishes in 2023 Events for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour as of that time.

B. If a tie still exists, the greatest number of 2nd place finishes, 3rd place finishes, etc., will be used in the same manner, until the tie is broken.

C. If a tie still remains, the driver and/or Car Owner having the highest finishing position first during the current season in which the driver and/or Car Owner competed for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at the time will prevail.

Posted on October 17, 2023 by Holly Cain

For more than two decades, the Homestead-Miami Speedway crowned the NASCAR Cup Series champion.

This year, the South Florida 1.5-mile track will again contribute mightily to the championship cause – hosting Sunday’s 4EVER 400 Presented by Mobil 1 (2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App) with an automatic bid into the season finale Championship 4 on the line.

Kyle Larson earned the first position among the four drivers who will compete for the 2024 title with a win in last weekend’s Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This week is another opportunity to claim a spot — and four of the current eight playoff competitors have won at Homestead-Miami in just the last six races there.

Larson is the defending winner, and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate — championship points leader William Byron — won in 2021. Among Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Denny Hamlin won most recently in 2020 and Martin Truex Jr. in 2017. And these four drivers also happen to be the top four ranked competitors coming into the weekend.

The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Larson already secured his bid into the Nov. 5 Phoenix title finale, and Byron sits atop the standings from there with a nine-point advantage over fifth place Christopher Bell in a tightly-contested ranking. Teammates Truex — the Regular Season Champion — and Hamlin are tied, only two points up on their JGR cohort Bell.

23XI Racing’s Tyler Redick is sixth, 16 points off the top four, followed by Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney (-17) and RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher (-23) with only this week’s 400-miler at Homestead-Miami and next week’s 500-lapper at the historic Martinsville Speedway half-miler remaining to see which four drivers will be eligible to compete for the season title.

MORE: Full playoff standings | Standings shift after Vegas

A race victory from any of the playoff drivers is an automatic bid into the Championship 4, with the highest-ranked drivers in the championship standings filling out the remaining title-eligible lineup.

The Homestead-Miami mile-and-a-half began hosting NASCAR Cup Series races in 1999. Hamlin has competed in 18 races at Homestead, and his three poles (2015, 2017, 2018) and three victories (2009, ’13 and ’20) are tops among all active drivers. Hamlin has failed to finish in the top 10 only six times in his 18 starts there and was seventh in last year’s race.

In Truex’s 18 starts, he has that championship-clinching victory in 2017, but also three runner-up finishes (2006, ’18 and ’19). He’s finished sixth or better in five of the last six races. In 2019, he led a race-high 103 of the 267 laps only to finish runner-up. He was sixth last fall.

“It’s a track I feel good about,” said Truex, driver of the No. 19 JGR Toyota. “Recent success is always important. Now racing with the Next Gen car, we raced there for the first time last year. That went really well, and we were in position to win that race late, and we had some issues getting spun on pit road that took us out of it.

“Definitely have a lot of confidence going there with our Bass Pro Shops Camry. I feel like we have a good notebook from last year to go off of. It’s a place where I think we can make something happen.”

Of note, Byron’s victory in 2021 was particularly impressive in that he led a race-best 102 laps en route to the win, even though he started 31st on the grid. Only one other race winner has started farther back on the grid – Hamlin won from a 38th-place start in 2009.

Only two drivers have won back-to-back races on the Homestead 1.5-mile speedway – NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart won the first two NASCAR Cup Series races there in 1999 and 2000, and Greg Biffle won three consecutively during the 2004-06 seasons.

Kyle Busch, who was eliminated from 2023 playoff competition after the previous round, joins Hamlin as the only other multi-time Homestead NASCAR Cup Series winner (2015 and ’19) among active drivers. Add in his NASCAR Xfinity Series wins (two) and Craftsman Truck Series victories (three), and Busch is the overall winningest driver at the track.

Several championship contenders have turned in big days in South Florida beyond the NASCAR Cup Series, however. Reddick, in particular, has a fantastic history at the track, winning back-to-back-NASCAR Xfinity Series races in 2018-19 to claim back-to-back series championships. And he did it driving for two different teams (JR Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing).

Larson won the NASCAR Xfinity Series race in 2015. Byron won the 2016 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race there.

This weekend marks a NASCAR playoff tripleheader, with all three series competing at Homestead-Miami. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races on Saturday at noon (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), followed by the NASCAR Xfinity Series at 3 p.m. (USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Practice for the NASCAR Cup Series race is scheduled for 9:05 a.m. ET on Saturday, followed by two rounds of qualifying at 9:50 a.m. ET.

Posted on October 17, 2023 by Staff Report

Two crew members from Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 54 Toyota team for rookie Ty Gibbs were issued suspensions Tuesday after a wheel detached from the car during last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Gibbs and the No. 54 team were penalized on Lap 216 of the 267-lap South Point 400, shortly after his scrape of the Turn 2 wall forced the race’s seventh caution period. The right-front wheel came off as he limped through Turns 3 and 4, and Gibbs was held for two laps on pit road.

Tuesday, competition officials handed down two-race suspensions to No. 54 team crew members Braxton Brannon (jack) and Jackson Gibbs (front-tire changer) under Sections 8.8.10.4.A & C (Tires and Wheels) in the NASCAR Rule Book. The bans are set to be in effect for the Cup Series’ events this Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Oct. 29 at Martinsville Speedway.

Gibbs ended up 34th in the 36-car field, eight laps off the pace.

Posted on October 17, 2023October 17, 2023 by Staff Report

2024 will usher the continuous expansion of NASCAR in Europe. EuroNASCAR, the best European touring car series, will take the Pure Racing atmosphere of its American Festivals to seven different countries for a total of 28 races to crown the NASCAR European Champion alongside. The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series will return to oval racing with the addition of a seventh NASCAR GP at Raceway Venray, Netherlands and a returning playoff format, four races awarding double points during Semi-Finals at Oschersleben, Germany and Finals at Zolder, Belgium.

“This 2024 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series calendar is the best in the Series history! Each one of these destinations brings its own flavour and identity to the NASCAR Official Championship, providing fans, teams and drivers a great diversity of racing experiences. We can‘t thank our fantastic circuit partners enough, each one of them sharing the same ambition to build great American Festivals to entertain tens of thousands of fans and families. This 2024 season will be another big step in the development of NASCAR in Europe,” said NWES president and CEO Jerome Galpin.

On April 13-14, Valencia‘s Circuit Ricardo Tormo will host the traditional season opener NASCAR GP SPAIN for the tenth time. The splendid 4 km track will also welcome the series Prologue — a day of pre-season testing — on April 11.

The NASCAR GP ITALY will change dates to become the second event of the 2024 season and benefit from the Roman dolce vita atmosphere in May: the American Festival of Rome will take place at the Autodromo di Vallelunga on May 18-19.

Circuit Brands Hatch and the hugely popular American SpeedFest XI will once again highlight the month of June. The NASCAR GP UK will gather tens of thousands of fans at the iconic Indy Circuit on June 8-9 to crown the king of Brands Hatch.

Three weeks later on June 29-30, the brand new OVAL GP will be held on the high-banking half-mile oval of Raceway Venray, marking NASCAR Whelen Euro Series’ return to an oval track for the first time since 2019. This unique event will be the sole NASCAR Oval race outside of the Americas.

After the summer break, the EuroNASCAR action will resume on August 31st and September 1st, when the official European NASCAR series visit Autodrom Most for the fifth edition of NASCAR GP CZECH REPUBLIC. This exciting weekend will end the regular season and determine the classifications before entering the Playoffs, after all drivers dropped their two worst results.

The EuroNASCAR will launch the Playoffs in Germany for the SEMI-FINALS on September 21-22. The pressure will be on with double points on the line. Motorsport Arena Oschersleben will welcome EuroNASCAR for the second time following a spectacular debut in 2023.

The season will culminate in Belgium at Circuit Zolder on October 12-13. The legendary track in the Limburg forest will host the EuroNASCAR FINALS for the seventh time with four nail-biting NASCAR races to crown the NASCAR Champion as well as Cups and Trophies winners .

Who is going to raise the Tijey trophy to the sky in the 13th season of the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series? A new season is ready to begin for EuroNASCAR. Don‘t miss a single lap of the battle to crown the 2024 NASCAR European Champion.

Featured image by NASCAR Whelen Euro Series

Posted on October 17, 2023October 17, 2023 by Staff Report

At the end of a twelve-race season filled with passion, emotions, sudden turnarounds and close Pure Racing action, the last race of the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season decided the battle for the title in favor of Gianmarco Ercoli, who earned his first EuroNASCAR PRO championship in the most unpredictable way. A never give up attitude was the key to success: Ercoli on the #54 CAAL Racing Chevrolet Camaro came out the winner ahead of Speedhouse‘s driver-owner Lucas Lasserre at the end of Europe‘s closest and most thrilling touring car championship.

Ercoli started the race from 17th and ended up fourth under the checkered flag. The outstanding comeback awarded him the eight bonus points for the most gained positions in the 18-lap race, a feat that played a major role in the outcome of the race. The Rome native is the first ever EuroNASCAR 2 champion to also win the premier NASCAR Whelen Euro Series title.

The race began with a potential three-way battle for the championship between Lasserre, Vittorio Ghirelli and Ercoli in which Ercoli was in the most desperate situation. Drama struck already in the first lap behind the Safety Car, when Ghirelli‘s throttle got stuck and caused the #72 Team Bleekemolen Ford Mustang to spin, putting the Italian at the back of the field.

In the first half of the race, Ercoli had to climb through the midfield of the pack and had only a glimpse left of hope for a miracle. But the Italian continued to get the best out of his #54 Chevrolet and tried to maximize the result, hoping for Lady Luck to be on his side. Meanwhile, Lasserre was cruising in second place with one hand on the Tijey Trophy.

In the rain of Belgium, drama struck again on lap 16, when a contact between Lasserre and Mario Ercoli, shuffled the Frenchman down to fourth. Ercoli received a 30 seconds post-race penalty for the incident. Lasserre still finished in front of Gianmarco Ercoli, but a 10 second post-race penalty for a procedure infringement in the initial start of the race relegated the Frenchman in 10th place, promoting Gianmarco Ercoli to fourth, 15 points clear in the lead.

In a season that saw six different winners, four different championship leaders and a unique competitive parity at all levels, three race wins, nine top-5 and ten top-10 results were the foundation for Ercoli to win the 2023 NWES Championship. To add to the record books, the winningest driver of the season, who won the EuroNASCAR 2 Championship in 2015, became the first driver to top both divisions, a testament to the quality of the NWES ladder system. The CAAL Racing driver stepped on top of his car‘s roof after being announced as the champions with tears of joy in his eyes. Ercoli experienced a rollercoaster of emotion in 2023.

“Even after the events on Saturday, I knew that this season would be decided today,” said Ercoli, who held onto the very last straw in the final race. “I just focused on myself and pushed very hard. Before the race, my team bosses Luca and Corrado Canneori as well as the whole team came to me and said: ‘Gimmy, fight! Don‘t think and just drive to have fun!‘ We were unlucky yesterday but today I‘m the lucky guy. It‘s really important for me personally to have won this EuroNASCAR PRO title and I have no words right now to express my emotions. I thank the whole team for the amazing work during this season.”

Lasserre ended up tenth in the last race of the season and finished second in the overall standings. Despite the heart-breaking loss, Speedhouse can be proud of an amazing year of strong results and a great development within the whole organization. Lasserre scored a total of two race wins in 2023 and paved the way towards strengthening the team‘s status in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series. Despite the frustrating outcome, the Speedhouse team will for sure find the positives in the season and keep on following their motto of “racing, style and good times”.

The same can be said about Vittorio Ghirelli and Team Bleekemolen, who vehemently emerged as top contenders for the title in the official European NASCAR Series.

Tobias Dauenhauer scored his second win of the season with Bremotion in dominant fashion. On a wet track, the driver of the #99 Chevrolet Camaro mastered the challenging condition with stunning lap times that were at some points more than two seconds better than the rest of the field. The German crossed the finish line 47.276 seconds ahead of Liam Hezemans in second. The latter, racing for Hendriks Motorsport, took the win in the Junior Trophy for drivers aged 25 and under, just six points ahead of race winner Dauenhauer. The special classification‘s podium was rounded out by Race Art Technology‘s Giorgio Maggi, who finished sixth.

“I love the rain and the car felt amazing,” says Dauenhauer in the Victory Lane. “It was a tough challenge for us because the car was damaged in a crash in the EuroNASCAR 2 race but my team managed to fix the car within ten minutes before the start of the race. Many thanks to Bremotion, we had an amazing car and I love these conditions. It‘s amazing to see so many fans here and I‘m really happy to end the season like this.”

Fabrizio Armetta collected his second overall Challenger Trophy win by finishing third under the checkered flag. The Italian made it to the overall podium for the first time of his career and scored his 22nd Challenger Trophy win to increase his lead in the all-time standings of the special classification. Giorgio Maggi followed behind Ercoli, while Anthony Kumpen ended up sixth and therefore kept his fourth place in the overall standings. The top-10 were rounded out by Martin Doubek, Paul Jouffreau, Ulysse Delsaux and Lucas Lasserre. Yevgen Sokolovskiy and Thomas Toffel joined Armetta on the Challenger Trophy podium.

Another thrilling and unpredictable championship is in the books. The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series will continue in 2024 with seven unique events across Europe in seven different countries. Buckle up for another year of exciting American themed events and Pure Racing at the tracks. Follow EuroNASCAR on social media and visit EuroNASCAR.com for the latest news about the 2024 season until the series travels to Valencia, Spain, on April 13-14.

EuroNASCAR PRO Results | EuroNASCAR 2 Results

Featured image by NASCAR Whelen Euro Series / Bart Dehaese