2024 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series
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The 2024 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series was the sixteenth Racecar Euro Series season, and the twelfth under the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series branding. The season started on 13 April with the Valencia NASCAR Fest at Circuit Ricardo Tormo and finished on 13 October with the EuroNASCAR Finals at Circuit Zolder.
Vittorio Ghirelli was crowned as the 2024 champion after scoring seven wins and a record breaking eleven pole positions, including all seven pole position awards from the seven qualifying sessions.[1] Paul Jouffreau did not defend his EuroNASCAR 2 title after he moved to EuroNASCAR PRO full-time. Jouffreau's first full season in EuroNASCAR PRO saw him took two wins and finish second in the championship. Defending champion Gianmarco Ercoli was third with one race win, ahead of Liam Hezemans who finished fourth after scoring three race wins. Marc Goossens was fifth despite missing the round at Brands Hatch due to a schedule clash.
Martin Doubek became EuroNASCAR 2's first multiple-time champion by finishing sixth in the final race at Zolder.[2] The Czech driver took six wins, the most out of any driver in the division. Patrick Schober, Jouffreau's replacement at RDV Competition, was second after scoring two race wins. Thomas Krasonis and Thomas Toffel took a career-best third and fourth place finish in the standings despite not winning a race. Claudio Remigio Cappelli finished fifth after scoring three race wins in the Playoffs. Jack Davidson and Gil Linster both took a win each at Brands Hatch and Valencia, the former becoming the first British driver to win in EuroNASCAR.[3]
Reigning Teams champion RDV Competition successfully defended their title under the new Endurance Teams format, having taken three round wins in the season. Hendriks Motorsport was second with their #50 team while Marko Stipp Motorsport was third with the #46 team.
EuroNASCAR PRO
Schedule
The provisional calendar for the 2024 season was announced on 11 October 2023.[69]
EuroNASCAR PRO
| Round | Race title | Track | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | R1 | NASCAR GP Spain – Valencia NASCAR Fest | 13 April | |
| R2 | 14 April | |||
| 2 | R3 | NASCAR GP Italy – American Festival of Rome | 18 May | |
| R4 | 19 May | |||
| 3 | R5 | NASCAR GP UK – American SpeedFest 11, Powered by Lucas Oil[70] | 8 June | |
| R6 | 9 June | |||
| 4 | R7 | NASCAR Oval GP | 30 June | |
| 5 | R8 | NASCAR GP Czech Republic | 31 August | |
| R9 | 1 September | |||
| EuroNASCAR Playoffs | ||||
| 6 | R10 | EuroNASCAR Semi-Finals – NASCAR GP Germany | 21 September | |
| R11 | 22 September | |||
| 7 | R12 | EuroNASCAR Finals – NASCAR GP Belgium | 12 October | |
| R13 | 13 October | |||
EuroNASCAR 2
| Round | Race title | Track | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | R1 | NASCAR GP Spain – Valencia NASCAR Fest | 13 April | |
| R2 | 14 April | |||
| 2 | R3 | NASCAR GP Italy – American Festival of Rome | 18 May | |
| R4 | 19 May | |||
| 3 | R5 | NASCAR GP UK – American SpeedFest 11, Powered by Lucas Oil[70] | 8 June | |
| R6 | 9 June | |||
| 4 | R7 | NASCAR Oval GP | 29 June | |
| 5 | R8 | NASCAR GP Czech Republic | 31 August | |
| R9 | 1 September | |||
| EuroNASCAR Playoffs | ||||
| 6 | R10 | EuroNASCAR Semi-Finals – NASCAR GP Germany | 21 September | |
| R11 | 22 September | |||
| 7 | R12 | EuroNASCAR Finals – NASCAR GP Belgium | 12 October | |
| R13 | 13 October | |||
Calendar changes
- Raceway Venray returns to the schedule after a four-year absence. The 1/2-mile oval is set to host the fourth round of the season on 29–30 June. It was originally announced to be a doubleheader race, but a schedule update in February 2024 revealed that the round will only consist of one race per class similar to the 2019 event.[71][72]
- NASCAR GP Italy and NASCAR GP UK swapped dates, with the round at Vallelunga now hosting the second round instead of the third.
- EuroNASCAR's Playoffs will be expanded into a two-round format for the first time since 2019. The rounds at Oschersleben and Zolder will host the series' double-points paying rounds. Despite this, the driver's championship retains the system used in the previous three seasons where only the best 8 results from the first 10 races will count towards the final standings alongside all results from the double-points races.
Rule changes
- On 31 January 2024, NASCAR Whelen Euro Series announced that the current generation of cars will be receiving a 2024 Evo package that will be put into use starting from the season opening round at Valencia. The Evo package were made to improve drivability and driver comfort, with the following changes being implemented.[73]
- The front spindle has been modified to provide a better steering geometry angle.
- A new three-point caliper brackets will be introduced to provide a stronger fitting for the brakes.
- A new rear spring package is added to improve acceleration and traction on cornering.
- A rally-inspired roof scoop made out of carbon fiber and a set of hood louvers will be introduced to improve cooling for both driver and the car. These changes were made to address concerns from series competitors after they encountered problems with excess heat being maintained inside the car during the 2023 NASCAR GP Italy at Vallelunga, which was highly affected by high summer temperatures in Italy.
- A speed limiter system will be added to better control speeds on pit lane and during Full Course Yellow situations.
- The Ford Mustang body style will receive a facelift to better match the seventh-generation Ford Mustang Dark Horse model that is currently in production.
- On 11 April 2024, NASCAR Whelen Euro Series announced the following changes to the sporting regulations:[74]
- Race control now has the option to increase the race length by the number of laps completed under caution. A time limit will also be introduced, with EuroNASCAR PRO races being capped to 45 minutes + 1 lap while EuroNASCAR 2 races are capped to 40 minutes + 1 lap.
- The Teams Championship is rebranded as the Endurance Teams Championship and will now classify teams based on aggregate results. Results in lap count and race time from each entry in all races during the weekend will be added and points will be awarded based on teams that completed the most total laps with the least time possible.
- Teams are now guaranteed to do one warm-up lap, two flying laps and one cooldown lap in Superpole. As a result, the session length will now be adjusted based on how quick the participants completed the prerequisite laps.
Results
EuroNASCAR PRO
EuroNASCAR 2
| Round | Race | Pole position | Fastest lap | Most laps led | Winning driver | Winning team | Winning manufacturer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | R1 | Valencia NASCAR Fest | Ford | |||||
| R2 | Toyota | |||||||
| 2 | R3 | American Festival of Rome | Ford | |||||
| R4 | Ford | |||||||
| 3 | R5 | American SpeedFest 11 | Ford | |||||
| R6 | Chevrolet | |||||||
| 4 | R7 | NASCAR Oval GP | Ford | |||||
| 5 | R8 | NASCAR GP Czech Republic | Ford | |||||
| R9 | Ford | |||||||
| EuroNASCAR Playoffs | ||||||||
| 6 | R10 | NASCAR GP Germany | Ford | |||||
| R11 | Ford | |||||||
| 7 | R12 | NASCAR GP Belgium | Ford | |||||
| R13 | Ford | |||||||
Endurance Teams Championship
| Round | Race | Heat 1 winner | Heat 2 winner | Heat 3 winner | Heat 4 winner | Overall winner | EuroNASCAR PRO Driver | EuroNASCAR 2 Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valencia NASCAR Fest | |||||||
| 2 | American Festival of Rome | |||||||
| 3 | American SpeedFest 11 | |||||||
| 4 | NASCAR Oval GP | N/a | ||||||
| 5 | NASCAR GP Czech Republic | |||||||
| EuroNASCAR Playoffs | ||||||||
| 6 | NASCAR GP Germany | |||||||
| 7 | NASCAR GP Belgium | |||||||