As German-owned 3F Racing prepares for their NASCAR Cup Series début, they will first tackle a NASCAR race on their home soil when Ryan Vargas enters the Whelen Euro Series‘ NASCAR GP Germany at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben on 23/24 October. He will drive the #30 Chevrolet Camaro in the top-flight EuroNASCAR PRO class with support from Team Bleekemolen.
3F Racing is co-run by three friends, hence the “3F” in the name, with lead owner Dennis Hirtz formerly serving as the marketing director of European GT team Phoenix Racing. The team originally hoped to begin Cup racing in 2022 with plans of going full-time by 2024, but eventually elected to start small by opening a late model programme first in partnership with Lee Faulk Racing. In August, EuroNASCAR 2 driver Max Mason tested a late model for the team at Hickory Motor Speedway.
Vargas joined 3F in July as the Director of Team and Driver Development. Besides running late model events, he will serve as a reserve driver.
He arrived at 3F with sixty-seven career Xfinity Series starts since 2019, including running much of the 2021 and 2022 calendars, with two top tens. For 2023, he is a consultant for Xfinity team CHK Racing while also racing part-time in the Craftsman Truck Series, running six races so far for On Point Motorsports.
“I am incredibly humbled to make the trip to Germany to run in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series race with my friends at 3F Racing,” said Vargas, “It’s always been a dream of mine to race overseas and to do that with the support of my friends at Critical Path Security makes it all the more special. I’ve been a fan of the series for quite some time and the idea of taking on a new challenge in a whole different car and track is an exciting one.
“It’s an honour to finally hit the track with 3F Racing on their home turf. The process of helping them expand their footprint in the US with the late model programme has been a fun project to say the least, and I firmly believe that us making this race happen will only bring more eyes to the programme.”
Vargas will be the fifteenth American to compete in the Euro Series. Others include Andre Castro, Jennifer Jo Cobb, Rick Crawford, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Eric Filgueiras, Brandon Gdovic, Ben Kennedy, Bobby Labonte, Julia Landauer, Kevin O’Connell, Dale Quarterley, Myatt Snider, Nick Strickler, and Giles Thornton.
