Consistent results in Belgium allowed Dario Caso to top the overall Challenger Trophy classifications by two points – Only three points separated Caso, Max Lanza and Thomas Toffel
A slim margin of three points decided the battle of the Challenger Trophy in the 2024 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season. The special classification for elite amateurs in EuroNASCAR PRO has brought plenty of surprises and the trend continued at the EuroNASCAR Finals in Belgium. For the first time since his debut season in 2016, Dario Caso of Vict Motorsport is the overall winner of the Challenger Trophy. Consistent results proved to be the key for the Italian, who used the opportunity presented by Max Lanza and Thomas Toffel’s troubles to earn himself a ticket to the NASCAR Awards Banquet in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The stage for Caso’s triumph was set in Playoffs 03 on Saturday, where he gained crucial points by finishing second in the Challenger Trophy behind the returning Kenko Miura. Lanza and Toffel retired from the race, but the latter still held the advantage heading into Sunday’s race. Unfortunately, Toffel suffered another retirement after making contact with Tobias Dauenhauer. This presented an opportunity for Lanza and Caso to become the new leader of the special classification. After 19 laps of racing action, a 14th place finish overall was enough for Caso to become the overall winner by just two points.
Toffel acknowledged that he took too much risk in the restart, but he’s ready to fight for another Challenger Trophy win in 2025. It has been a year of great improvement for the Swiss driver, who showed that elite amateurs can also fight for the overall victory with his podium in Germany. Lanza was an additional point behind Toffel in third position, but the CAAL Racing driver was proud to be able to do his best and “fight like a lion” at the 4.010 kilometer Circuit Zolder.
Riccardo Romagnoli was fourth in the overall standings ahead of Liam Lambert, who showed great speed behind the wheel of the #21 Lux Motorsport Chevrolet Camaro. The Brit had plenty of speed in Playoffs 03 and even briefly ran ahead of top drivers such as Liam Hezemans and Martin Doubek, but his car hit trouble late in the race and he was forced to retire with three laps to go. Lanza and Toffel’s prior retirement meant that he still took a Challenger Trophy podium in third.
Then on Playoffs 04, Lambert kept his pink machine clean through the early race drama and found himself in sixth position for the second restart. He maintained a steady pace and eventually crossed the finish line in eighth, bringing home another top Challenger Trophy silverware for the Lux Motorsport team from Scotland. Miura was back on a NASCAR grid for the first time since the NASCAR Xfinity Series race in Chicago and impressed with his first and second place finishes in the Challenger Trophy. The Japanese driver was sixth in the Trophy rankings, ahead of Frederic Perriat, Davide Dallara and Paolo Valeri who completed the classifications.
The Trophy battles of the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series proved to be just as exciting and competitive as the main championship duels, making it one of the reasons why you should watch the official European NASCAR series. While the 2024 season has written its final chapter before its resumption in 2025 with the NASCAR GP Spain on 12-13 April 2025, tune in to the official EuroNASCAR YouTube channel where you can watch past broadcasts at any time.
Featured image by NASCAR Whelen Euro Series / Nina Weinbrenner
