Following the success of the inaugural OMV MaxxMotion NASCAR Show at Autodrom Most last month, NASCAR Whelen Euro Series announced yesterday that the series and Autodrom Most has reached an agreement to bring NASCAR’s official European series to Czech Republic for three more years.
With 20.750 spectators attending the inaugural OMV MaxxMotion NASCAR Show and fantastic races that saw dramas such as Loris Hezemans’ spectacular engine failure and the intense duel between Giorgio Maggi and Lasse Sørensen in Elite 2, NASCAR Whelen Euro Series’ first visit to the Czech Republic proved to be a huge success and the series has rewarded the track with a three-year contract extension that will see the track staying in the series calendar until at least the 2022 season.
“Euro NASCAR keeps growing season after season and we are very happy to secure a presence in Central Europe on a long term basis.” said NWES President CEO Jerome Galpin. “Autodrom Most offers one of the best track layouts in Europe and a very professional organization understanding perfectly our concept of great American show on and around the track. We now have time to develop this event designed to become one of the biggest in the region.”
“Concluding the contract with the European NASCAR series for the next three years is a great honor for Autodrom Most and at the same time acknowledging the work of our employees during the premiere of the OMV MaxxMotion NASCAR Show at the end of June. Thanks to them, we were able to offer great entertainment to spectators and also the teams and riders had the perfect support. This is proved by the evaluation of the promoter who spoke well about the event and described the weekend as very successful. Perhaps that is why the subsequent negotiations on the conclusion of the contract until 2022 were effective, carried in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere,” said Ivo Diviš, Executive Director of Autodrom Most.
The inaugural OMV MaxxMotion NASCAR Show was held on 29-30 June as the fourth race week of the 2019 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season. The round at Most is the newest addition to the series calendar and marked NASCAR’s first ever visit to the Czech Republic. It also made Czech Republic the eighth country to host a NASCAR Whelen Euro Series race.
The race week at Most started in a dramatic fashion as Nicolò Rocca won his first race in the series since 2015 after Loris Hezemans’ engine spectacularly blew with 4 laps to go, forcing the race to end under yellow because of the oil that was dumped to the track by Hezemans’ engine. The Hendriks team then pulled a miraculous job to change the No. 50 Mustang’s engine in time for the Elite 2 race, where pole sitter Giorgio Maggi was able to convert his pole to a victory after fending off championship rivals Lasse Sørensen and Andre Castro.
The following day, Lasse Sørensen scored his fourth victory in just six races in the Elite 2 class after he fend off the challenge from Giorgio Maggi for the entirety of the race, while Loris Hezemans was able to avenge the engine failure from the Saturday race with his first victory of the season in the Sunday Elite 1 race.
Most will join tracks such as Valencia, Brands Hatch, Hockenheim, and Zolder as tracks that have confirmed their intentions to stay in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series calendar in the long-term. With the Euro Series being one of the fastest growing racing series’ in the world, the future of the series looks brighter than ever.
Unless noted, all photos used in this article are courtesy of NASCAR Whelen Euro Series / Stephane Azemard.