Hoping to get more drivers up to the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, FEED Racing and EuroNASCAR have joined forces to create the FEED Racing EuroNASCAR Challenge. Announced on Thursday, the challenge is a racing school that runs from August to September with the winner receiving a full-time NWES ride for 2022.
Established by NWES drivers Jacques Villeneuve and Patrick Lemarié, both of whom have enjoyed success in open-wheel and sports cars, the challenge operates in the same vein as the FEED Racing School for aspiring Formula 4 drivers, in which the two are also involved.
“Since the launch of FEED Racing and the F4 program, we realised that many drivers over 21 years old were also eager to get a chance,” Villeneuve stated. “In collaboration with EuroNASCAR and Jerome Galpin’s teams, we thought that there was room to offer an opportunity for the largest number.
“EuroNASCAR is the ideal platform for those who otherwise could not hope to drive such a car, and who knows, to win a full season. I’ve been enjoying myself so much since 2019 in this championship. It’s an amazing chance for all those who want to express their talent, to take part in very close races, against a fierce competition.”
Applicants who are at least sixteen years of age and pay an €8,000 fee will participate in a three-day testing period at Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours on 4–6 August, receiving coaching from FEED Racing staff. The French track hosted Euro Series races in 2009 and 2011, when it was known as the Racecar Euro Series and had not become a NASCAR-affiliated body.
The six fastest drivers from the test are invited to a final event in September. Specifics of the final were not revealed, though the winner will be provided with a seat for the full 2022 NWES season.
“EuroNASCAR is what we call pure racing,” said Lemarié. “It’s everything we love about driving. It gives you the opportunity to relive the sensations that tend to disappear nowadays in motorsport. Driving a EuroNASCAR is brutal and very demanding. We take a maximum of pleasure out there.
“This Challenge is quite different because there is no age limit. It can concern young drivers over sixteen years old who would like to have access to a professional championship in order to get noticed but also older drivers who already have experience in other categories and would like to relaunch their career, those who do not have the budget to complete a season or gentlemen drivers who would like to drive something different than a GT car.”
Galpin described the EuroNASCAR car as “probably the car providing the best ratio between performances, costs and fun to every kind of driver of every age. Over the years they demonstrated to be the perfect tool to develop drivers’ skills. This is why we are very happy to open a new dimension for our EuroNASCAR cars and build this first Racing School program.”
