NASCAR launches massive expansion in Europe

The championship is changing its name for the coming season, to simply become " NASCAR Euro Series ». A clear rapprochement with the flagship series in the United States, the NASCAR Cup Series, whose inspiration can very clearly be felt in the new logo, presented in Charlotte, North Carolina, the home of the stock car championship since its creation in 1949. The European championship is much younger, but with now 15 years of existence, it is ready to embark on a whole new era from 2025.

A new car, third generation, will be presented, for example, in order to give a new impetus to the championship. This Gen3 is currently in development with the teams of Team FJ, promoter of the championship, and like what the American championship does with the Next Gen, its development will be continuous in the coming years, starting with the official prologue in Valencia at the beginning of the season. The format of the races should also change slightly, but the categorisation of the drivers will remain the same, the classes simply changing name, with a PRO category and an OPEN category. Each category will contest two races, and as is currently the case, a Pro driver will share his car with a driver from the Open category during the weekend.

The NASCAR Euro Series will also add a "Rookie Challenge", designed to help young guns and gentlemen enter the world of European NASCAR. After recruitment tests, based on other disciplines, the karting or even simracing, a few selected drivers will join the Rookie challenge or even directly the Pro and Open classes, depending on their skills.

A “Road to America” program aimed at bringing European drivers

In addition to an increased partnership with NASCAR, which becomes the sole title partner of the championship, a driver development system will be set up with a very simple objective: to serve as a springboard to the three national NASCAR series. The best drivers in the championship will thus be able to obtain scholarships and support in their careers in order to try to break through in the United States. New Zealand and Mexico, for example, will be represented in the Cup Series next year, why not European countries, and possibly France, in the near future? The collaboration with the American association will also allow NASCAR Euro Series drivers to participate in the road rounds of the national championships. Events whose number continues to increase, and which therefore allow drivers from different backgrounds to show themselves.

« This new era of NASCAR in Europe is the result of a development strategy implemented with NASCAR for 2 years, focused on the objective of making the championship a leading series in European motorsport. We absolutely want to bring more to our fans, our drivers, our teams, our partners and to make the unique atmosphere of NASCAR competitions known to as many people as possible on the best European circuits. After the creation of the series in 2009 and the affiliation as an official series in Europe in 2012, we are today taking a new major step in our development for which the only limit is our imagination., explained Jérôme Galpin, president of the NASCAR Euro Series.

See you on April 12 and 13, 2025 for the opening round in Valencia, Spain, and the beginning of a new era for NASCAR in Europe. With, who knows, a return of oval races, as was the case in the past on the Tours Speedway, an event that managed to bring together many American-style motorsport fans, and a good number of curious people too.

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