2023 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series

The 2023 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series is the fifteenth Racecar Euro Series season, and the eleventh under the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series branding. The season is scheduled to start on 6 May with the first points race of the season at Circuit Ricardo Tormo and is currently scheduled to end with the All-Star Race at Automotodrom Grobnik on 11 November.

Locations of the circuits currently scheduled to host a NASCAR Whelen Euro Series race in 2023
Alon Day is the reigning series champion.

Alon Day and Liam Hezemans would enter the season as the reigning champions in the EuroNASCAR PRO and EuroNASCAR 2 divisions respectively, although Liam would not defend his title as he moves up to the EuroNASCAR PRO division in 2023. Hendriks Motorsport would enter the season as the defending Team's Champion.

Teams and drivers

NASCAR Whelen Euro Series released a provisional 31-car entry list for the teams participating on 5 April 2022.[1]

EuroNASCAR PRO
Team No. Body Style Race Driver Rounds
Italy Academy Motorsport 1 TBA TBA[1] TBA
5 EuroNASCAR FJ 2020 Cyprus Vladimiros Tziortzis[2] TBA
France RDV Competition 3 Chevrolet Camaro France Frédéric Gabillon[3] TBA
Netherlands Hendriks Motorsport 7 Ford Mustang Czech Republic Martin Doubek[4] TBA
50 Toyota Camry Netherlands Liam Hezemans[5] TBA
Italy Vict Motorsport[1] 8 Chevrolet Camaro TBA TBA
9 TBA TBA
France SpeedHouse 14 TBA TBA[1] TBA
33 Ford Mustang TBA[1] TBA
40 TBA TBA[1] TBA
64 TBA[1] TBA
Switzerland Race Art Technology 18 TBA TBA TBA
34 TBA TBA
Belgium PK Carsport 24 Chevrolet Camaro Belgium Anthony Kumpen[6] TBA
Italy Double V Racing[7] 27 Ford Mustang TBA TBA
Germany Marko Stipp Motorsport[7] 46 Chevrolet Camaro TBA TBA
48 TBA TBA
Italy CAAL Racing 54 Chevrolet Camaro Italy Gianmarco Ercoli[8] TBA
56 Belgium Marc Goossens[9][10] TBA
88 Italy Max Lanza[11] TBA
Italy The Club Motorsport 55 Chevrolet Camaro Italy Fabrizio Armetta[12] TBA
65 TBA[1] TBA
Switzerland Racingfuel Motorsport 58 Chevrolet Camaro TBA TBA
94 Austria Alina Loibnegger[13][7] TBA
Netherlands Team Bleekemolen 66 TBA TBA[1] TBA
69 TBA[1] TBA
72 TBA[1] TBA
TBA Netherlands Sebastiaan Bleekemolen[14] TBA
Japan Team Japan NEEDS24[1] 74 Toyota Camry TBA TBA
Bulgaria Team Bulgaria[15] 89 TBA TBA[1] TBA
90 Toyota Camry TBA TBA
Germany Bremotion[16] 99 Chevrolet Camaro TBA TBA

EuroNASCAR 2
Team No. Body Style Race Driver Rounds
Italy Academy Motorsport 1 TBA TBA[1] TBA
5 EuroNASCAR FJ 2020 TBA TBA
France RDV Competition 3 Chevrolet Camaro France Paul Jouffreau[17][3] TBA
Netherlands Hendriks Motorsport 7 Ford Mustang Czech Republic Martin Doubek[4] TBA
50 Toyota Camry TBA TBA
Italy Vict Motorsport[1] 8 Chevrolet Camaro TBA[1] TBA
9 TBA TBA
France SpeedHouse 14 TBA TBA[1] TBA
33 Ford Mustang TBA[1] TBA
40 TBA TBA[1] TBA
64 TBA[1] TBA
TBA France Néo Lambert[18] TBA
Switzerland Race Art Technology 18 TBA TBA TBA
34 TBA TBA
Belgium PK Carsport 24 Chevrolet Camaro TBA TBA
Italy Double V Racing[7] 27 Ford Mustang Austria Patrick Schober[19] TBA
Germany Marko Stipp Motorsport[7] 46 Chevrolet Camaro TBA TBA
48 TBA TBA
TBA Brazil Nick Schneider[20][21] TBA
Italy CAAL Racing 54 Chevrolet Camaro Italy Alberto "Naska" Fontana[22] TBA
56 Belgium Sven van Laere[9][10] TBA
88 Italy Roberto Benedetti TBA
Italy The Club Motorsport 55 Chevrolet Camaro TBA TBA
65 TBA[1] TBA
Switzerland Racingfuel Motorsport 58 Chevrolet Camaro Australia Max Mason[23][24] TBA
94 United States Nick Strickler[24] TBA
Netherlands Team Bleekemolen 66 TBA TBA[1] TBA
69 TBA[1] TBA
72 TBA[1] TBA
TBA Netherlands Michael Bleekemolen[25] TBA
Japan Team Japan NEEDS24[1] 74 Toyota Camry TBA TBA
Bulgaria Team Bulgaria[15] 89 TBA TBA[1] TBA
90 Toyota Camry TBA TBA
Germany Bremotion[16] 99 Chevrolet Camaro TBA TBA

Drivers
  • On 5 October 2022, former two-time series champion Anthony Kumpen announced to Autosport.be that he will be returning to the series on a full-time basis in 2023, having previously made his return to the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series during last year's round at Circuit Zolder. It is scheduled to be Kumpen's first full-time season since 2017 and his first planned full-time season participation since 2018, which he was unable to complete after he was suspended for four years by the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium for failing a drug test during the 2018 24 Hours of Zolder.[6] The announcement of the provisional Entry List on 4 April 2023 confirmed that Kumpen will be replacing Alon Day as PK Carsport's sole full-time driver in EuroNASCAR PRO. Day's status for 2023 is currently unknown.[1]
  • On 10 October 2022, Thomas Krasonis announced that he would be leaving the series to compete in the United States in 2023. Krasonis is currently scheduled to make his ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut in 2023 for a currently unannounced team.[26]
  • On 28 October 2022, just after the conclusion of the 2022 EuroNASCAR Club Challenge season, Néo Lambert announced his plans to compete in the EuroNASCAR 2 season with SpeedHouse for 2023. The team that he's scheduled to drive for is currently unknown.[18]
  • On 5 December 2022, it was announced that Vladimiros Tziortzis will be stepping up to the EuroNASCAR PRO class for 2023. Tziortzis will become the new EuroNASCAR PRO driver of Academy's No. 5 team, replacing Patrick Lemarié whose status for 2023 is currently unknown.[2]
  • On 15 December 2022, Double T Racing announced that Leonardo Colavita and Double T Racing will be leaving NASCAR Whelen Euro Series to join the Italian GT Championship's GT Cup class in 2023.[27]
  • On 16 February 2023, it was announced that Australian driver Max Mason will be joining the EuroNASCAR 2 championship in 2023. It was subsequently announced on 21 March 2023 that Mason will be joining Racingfuel Motorsport as the full-time driver of the No. 58 Chevrolet in 2023. He will be joined by American driver Nick Strickler, who is set to compete with the No. 94 Chevrolet in 2023.[23][24]
  • On 9 March 2023, it was announced that reigning EuroNASCAR 2 champion Liam Hezemans will be moving up to the EuroNASCAR PRO division for a full-time switch in 2023. Liam previously competed double duty on both EuroNASCAR PRO and EuroNASCAR 2 in 2022.[5]
  • On 15 March 2023, Marko Stipp Motorsport announced that the team has signed German-Brazilian driver Nick Schneider for the 2023 season. Schneider, who competed in the DMV BMW 318ti Cup last year under a Brazilian racing license, is set to compete in the EuroNASCAR 2 division.[20][21]
  • On 24 March 2023, it was announced that Alberto Naska will be driving CAAL Racing's No. 54 team for the 2023 season. Naska competed with CAAL's No. 88 team in 2022.[22]
  • On 25 March 2023, it was announced that Paul Jouffreau will be switching teams to RDV Competition despite having a two-year contract with SpeedHouse. Jouffreau will be replacing Ulysse Delsaux as RDV's new EuroNASCAR 2 driver.[3]
  • On 27 March 2023, it was announced that Marc Goossens will be returning to CAAL Racing after spending a season with SpeedHouse. Goossens will be joined by Sven van Laere, who is set to make his first full-season campaign in EuroNASCAR after making his debut at Circuit Zolder in 2019.[10]
  • On 29 March 2023, it was announced that Alina Loibnegger is set to compete in EuroNASCAR PRO with Racingfuel Motorsport after two seasons of competition in the EuroNASCAR 2 division.[13]

Teams
  • On 15 December 2022, Double T Racing announced that they will be leaving the series and make the switch to the Italian GT Championship in 2023.
  • On 29 December 2022, German automotive tuning firm Bremotion announced their intention to enter NASCAR Whelen Euro Series as a single-car team in 2023. Bremotion will be receiving technical support and cooperation from both Hendriks Motorsport and Team Hezeberg for their debut season.[16]
  • On 24 February 2023, Team Bulgaria announced that they will be joining the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series in 2023, fielding the No. 90 Toyota Camry for their debut season.[15]
  • The announcement of the provisional Entry List on 4 April 2023 revealed the following changes:[1]
    • Buggyra ZM Racing and MK1 Racing Italia will be leaving the series after a year and a three-year stay respectively.
    • Team Bulgaria acquired a second entry in the No. 89 team, effectively taking over the entries from Not Only Motorsport who fielded both the No. 89 and the No. 90 teams in 2022.
    • Team Japan NEEDS24 will be attempting their first full-season campaign in EuroNASCAR. Team Japan had previously entered the 2022 round at Circuit Zolder as an one-off entry.
    • Racers Motorsport will be rebranded back to Vict Motorsport.
    • Academy Motorsport is downscaling to two cars with the decision to shut down the No. 2 team for 2023.
    • Team Bleekemolen will be downscaling to three cars, losing the No. 23 and No. 44 teams that were entered in a collaboration with Finnish racing firm Iceboys and replacing it with a new team in the No. 66 car.
    • Race Art Technology will expand their team with the addition of the No. 34 car in 2023.

Schedule

The provisional calendar for the 2023 season was announced on 25 October 2022.[28] All races of the 2023 season will be held on road courses, although the Arctic Ice Race non-championship event would be planned to be held on an ice surface.

EuroNASCAR PRO
Round Race Title Track Date
1 R1 NASCAR GP Spain – Valencia NASCAR Fest Spain Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Valencia 6 May
R2 7 May
2 R3 NASCAR GP UK – American SpeedFest X United Kingdom Brands Hatch (Indy), West Kingsdown 17 June
R4 18 June
3 R5 NASCAR GP Italy Italy Autodromo Vallelunga, Campagnano di Roma 8 July
R6 9 July
4 R7 NASCAR GP Czech Republic – Autodrom Most NASCAR Show Czech Republic Autodrom Most, Most 26 August
R8 27 August
5 R9 NASCAR GP Germany Germany Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, Oschersleben 23 September
R10 24 September
6 R11 EuroNASCAR Finals – NASCAR GP Belgium Belgium Circuit Zolder, Heusden-Zolder 14 October
R12 15 October
AS R1 All Star Endurance Race Croatia Automotodrom Grobnik, Čavle 11 November

EuroNASCAR 2
Round Race Title Track Date
1 R1 NASCAR GP Spain – Valencia NASCAR Fest Spain Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Valencia 6 May
R2 7 May
2 R3 NASCAR GP UK – American SpeedFest X United Kingdom Brands Hatch (Indy), West Kingsdown 17 June
R4 18 June
3 R5 NASCAR GP Italy Italy Autodromo Vallelunga, Campagnano di Roma 8 July
R6 9 July
4 R7 NASCAR GP Czech Republic – Autodrom Most NASCAR Show Czech Republic Autodrom Most, Most 26 August
R8 27 August
5 R9 NASCAR GP Germany Germany Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, Oschersleben 23 September
R10 24 September
6 R11 EuroNASCAR Finals – NASCAR GP Belgium Belgium Circuit Zolder, Heusden-Zolder 14 October
R12 15 October
AS R1 All Star Endurance Race Croatia Automotodrom Grobnik, Čavle 11 November

Calendar changes
  • NASCAR Whelen Euro Series was initially scheduled to be hosting NASCAR's first event on ice with the NASCAR Arctic Ice Race, which was initially scheduled to open the season as an exhibition event on 4–5 March. The announcement follows upon what NASCAR Whelen Euro Series had announced last year where the series plans to host a non-championship Winter Classic event at some point between late 2022 and early 2023. However, on 10 January 2023 it was announced that the race was postponed indefinitely due to global supply chain issues.[29] Had the NASCAR Arctic Ice Race went underway, the race would use the following format that was first announced on 3 December 2022:[30]
    • Six 30-minute long free practice sessions was planned to be held on Friday on a 3.2 km (2.0 mi) long track.
    • A Time Attack tournament was planned to be held on a 2.4 km (1.5 mi) track layout on Saturday, with the results of the tournament determined the starting grid for Sunday's event.
    • A rallycross-style shootout event was planned to be held on Sunday on a 2.0 km (1.2 mi) layout of the track. The shootout would include heat races, semi-finals and finals to determine the overall winner of the event.
  • NASCAR GP Germany will be returning to the series after a three-year hiatus. The round will be held on Motorsport Arena Oschersleben for the first time and is currently scheduled to fifth round of the season on 23-24 September.
  • NASCAR GP Belgium regained its former status as the final round of the season. Circuit Zolder is scheduled to host EuroNASCAR's season finale for the first time since 2019 and the sixth time in history, having hosted the final round of the season from 2015 to 2019.
  • Automotodrom Grobnik loses its status as a championship round and will be scheduled to host an All Star Endurance Race on 11 November.[31]
  • NASCAR GP Czech Republic was initially scheduled to be held on 3–4 September, but on 26 November 2022 it was announced that the round will be moved one week ahead to 26–27 August instead.[32]

See also

References
  1. "31 CAR ENTRIES SUBMITTED FOR THE 2023 EURONASCAR SEASON". euronascar.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. 4 April 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  2. "VLADIMIROS TZIORTZIS MAKES THE STEP UP TO EURONASCAR PRO WITH ACADEMY / ALEX CAFFI MOTORSPORT". euronascar.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. 14 December 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  3. "All French driver line-up for RDV Competition". speedwaydigest.com. Speedway Digest. 25 March 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  4. "MARTIN DOUBEK SET TO PULL DOUBLE DUTIES FOR HENDRIKS MOTORSPORT". euronascar.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. 28 March 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  5. "EuroNASCAR-2-Meister Liam Hezemans steigt in die EuroNASCAR PRO auf" [EuroNASCAR 2 Champion Liam Hezemans moves up to EuroNASCAR PRO]. threewide.de (in Dutch). ThreeWide. 9 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  6. "American Festival: Anthony Kumpen: "Ik ben klaar om voor de zege te strijden"" [American Festival: Anthony Kumpen: "I'm ready to fight for victory"]. autosport.be (in Dutch). Autosport.be. 5 October 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  7. "NASCAR Whelen Euro Series: Fahrer und Teams der Saison 2023" [NASCAR Whelen Euro Series: Drivers and teams for the 2023 season]. leadlap.de (in German). Leadlap. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  8. "GIANMARCO ERCOLI RETURNS TO CAAL RACING TO FIGHT FOR THE TITLE". euronascar.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. 23 March 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  9. "(Instagram post)". Instagram. CAAL Racing. 17 March 2023.
  10. "Marc Goossens en Sven van Laere met CAAL Racing in NWES" [Marc Goossens and Sven van Laere with CAAL Racing in NWES]. rallyandraces.com (in Dutch). RallyandRaces. 27 March 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  11. "MAX LANZA RETURNS TO CAAL RACING FOR HIS SECOND EURONASCAR PRO SEASON". euronascar.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. 21 February 2023. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  12. "(Facebook post)". Facebook. Dinoil Italia. 11 March 2023.
  13. "ALINA LOIBNEGGER CONFIRMED AT RACINGFUEL MOTORSPORT, STEPPING UP TO EURONASCAR PRO". euronascar.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  14. "SEBASTIAAN BLEEKEMOLEN VOLTOOID ISRAMAN 2023" [SEBASTIAAN BLEEKEMOLEN COMPLETED ISRAMAN 2023]. raceplanet.nl (in Dutch). Bleekemolens Race Planet. 29 January 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  15. "TEAM BULGARIA SET TO JOIN EURONASCAR IN 2023". euronascar.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. 24 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  16. "Bremotion steigt in EuroNASCAR 2023 ein" [Bremotion enters EuroNASCAR in 2023]. bremotion.de (in German). Bremotion Sport Marketing GmbH. 29 December 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  17. "SPEEDHOUSE REVEALS EXCITING PLANS FOR THE 2022 EURONASCAR SEASON". euronascar.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. 23 November 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  18. "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: GORDON BARNES DEFENDS THE CLUB CHALLENGE TITLE". euronascar.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. 28 October 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  19. "YOUNGSTER PATRICK SCHOBER RETURNS TO DOUBLE V RACING". euronascar.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. 4 April 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  20. "(Facebook post)". Facebook. Marko Stipp Motorsport. 15 March 2023.
  21. "MARKO STIPP MOTORSPORT SIGNS GERMAN-BRAZILIAN TALENT NICK SCHNEIDER". euronascar.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. 15 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  22. "ALBERTO NASKA BACK WITH CAAL RACING TO CHASE THE EURONASCAR 2 TITLE". euronascar.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. 25 March 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  23. "MAX MASON TO MAKE EURONASCAR 2 DEBUT IN 2023". euronascar.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. 16 February 2023. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  24. "RACINGFUEL MOTORSPORT ANNOUNCES INTERNATIONAL EURONASCAR 2 LINE-UP". euronascar.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. 21 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  25. "LIVE: EuroNASCAR PRO Round 10 - NASCAR GP BELGIUM 2022". YouTube. NASCAR Whelen Euro Series. October 9, 2022. Retrieved December 3, 2022. (at 13:35) MICHAEL BLEEKEMOLEN: "I'm 73 now and my sons, they told me "You have to stop now!" but I don't like to stop. I'll go away again next year again with the whole season." ANDRÉ WIEGOLD: "You will be back on EuroNASCAR next season, one hundred percent?" MICHAEL BLEEKEMOLEN: "For sure! I don't know what I have to do otherwise, that's my problem. But it's just six weekends, which is just enough."
  26. B, Dimitris (October 10, 2022). "Thomas Krasonis to race in the US and the NASCAR series from 2023". ThomasKrasonis.com. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  27. "Colavita e TT Racing debuttano nel GT Cup con una Ferrari AF Corse" [Colavita and TT Racing debut in the GT Cup with a Ferrari AF Corse]. italiaracing.net (in Italian). December 15, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  28. "2023 CALENDAR: NASCAR WHELEN EURO SERIES SET FOR HISTORIC SEASON". euronascar.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. 25 October 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  29. "NASCAR WHELEN EURO SERIES ICE RACE POSTPONED". euronascar.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. 10 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  30. "EURONASCAR REVEALS FIRST DETAILS ABOUT THE GRAND PREMIERE ARCTIC ICE RACE IN ROVANIEMI, FINLAND". euronascar.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. 3 December 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  31. "2023 EURONASCAR PRO SCHEDULE & TICKETS". euronascar.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  32. "NASCAR GP CZECH REPUBLIC TO MOVE TO AUGUST 26-27". euronascar.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. 26 November 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
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