The 2023 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series is reaching its crunch time after the NASCAR GP Czech Republic at Autodrom Most. Heading into the regular season finale at Oschersleben, Gianmarco Ercoli still leads the championship, but the driver of the #54 CAAL Racing Chevrolet Camaro suffered from a crash in Free Practice and never got a handle on the 4.212 kilometer long track. As a result, the Rome native saw his rivals close the gap in the championship standings. Lucas Lasserre sits second, just two points behind Ercoli, and the Speedhouse driver-owner is eager to win his first title in the series since it is officially sanctioned by NASCAR.
While Ercoli only finished 15th on Saturday and fifth on Sunday at the end of a strong comeback from a contact with Jack Davidson, Lasserre scored important points by finishing fourth on Saturday and sixth on Sunday. In the final race of the weekend, the Frenchman gambled and kept his rain tires on his #64 Ford Mustang, but the track dried out and no more rain hit the track. Lasserre deteriorated his Hoosier rain tires and was almost on slicks-like tires at the end of a thrilling race that saw him finish sixth as the best driver with the wrong tire strategy.
Looking at the overall picture, Lasserre is the top contender for the title behind Ercoli, but another Italian driver made great strides towards the front in the Czech Republic: Vittorio Ghirelli. The Fasano native took his first win of the season in Italy in July and kept the momentum at the Autodrom Most, where the driver of the #72 Team Bleekemolen Toyota Camry scored a dominant race win and a second place. He also received the Tijey Fastest Driver Award for scoring the most points during the race weekend.
Ghirelli is third in the championship standings, just seven points behind Ercoli. The 2020 EuroNASCAR 2 Champion is looking to take the final step and become the first driver to showcase both EuroNASCAR PRO and EuroNASCAR 2 titles in his trophy case at home in Italy. But there’s another title contender who can’t be ruled out, especially when Circuit Zolder is the home of the double-point EuroNASCAR Finals: Anthony Kumpen, PK Carsport’s top driver and team manager.
Driving the #24 Chevrolet Camaro, the Belgian finished second on Saturday and twelfth on Sunday due to a wrong tire choice. 19 points separate the championship leader and Kumpen, who would like to add a third championship ring to his collection by winning another NWES title. The season is still long and with two dropped results after the NASCAR GP Germany at Oschersleben, the top-4 still have all chances to make it to the top of the standings at Circuit Zolder.
It’s definitely crunch time and the regular season finale at the new home of German NASCAR racing, the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, promises plenty of action, drama and Pure Racing. Qualifying and all races of the NASCAR GP Germany on September 23-24 will be broadcast live on EuroNASCAR’s YouTube channel, Motorsport.tv and various TV services around the world.
Featured image by NASCAR Whelen Euro Series / Nina Weinbrenner
