Earlier today, major news arrived from the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series as NASCAR and Team FJ has agreed to sign a ten-year partnership extension that will see both parties extending the contract for NASCAR Whelen Euro Series to stay as an official NASCAR-sanctioned series until at least 2030.
The partnership between NASCAR and Team FJ was first signed before the start of the 2012 season, and since then the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series has become one of the biggest growing racing series’ in the world, with the 2019 mid-season outreach reporting that the series saw a 50% increase on live streaming viewership and a 93% increase of social media engagements when compared to 2018.
“The whole Team FJ organization as well as the Galpin Family are extremely happy and proud of this extension coming even before the previous agreement’s expiration,” said NWES founder, President, and CEO Jerome Galpin. “This demonstrates the great job done over these past years and the very unique relationship built between Team FJ and NASCAR.”
“When we created the Series, we would have never imagined how big it could become, but today we measure the huge potential still in front of us and figure we only tapped a small portion of it! Working with such great people at NASCAR is definitely a huge opportunity and we are all very excited to work even harder during the next decade to continue to grow NASCAR and it’s unique Pure Racing fun in Europe!”
“Today’s announcement of a 10-year extension reinforces NASCAR’s commitment to its international footprint and sets up the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series for continued growth and expansion in Europe over the next decade,” said Gene Stefanyshyn, NASCAR Chief International Officer.
“Europe remains a critical building block of NASCAR’s International initiative and we believe we have established a solid base from which to continue to grow. We are very thankful to Anne and Jerome Galpin and the whole Team FJ organization for the partnership we have shared with them over the past several years and look forward to many more years of cooperation as we build the Series together.”
In the eight seasons of NASCAR Whelen Euro Series under the official sanctioning of NASCAR, the series has expanded from its initial “birthplace” of France to host official NASCAR events at 16 tracks in 8 countries across Europe and has welcomed drivers from all over the world, ranging from youngsters wanting to build their racing career to established world champions such as Bobby Labonte and Jacques Villeneuve.
The 2019 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series marked the biggest season in the Euro Series yet as for the first time ever, the series expanded into a 7-round calendar with the addition of Czech Republic’s Autodrom Most to the season calendar. The series received a record total of 36 entries from 21 different teams, with more than 75 drivers from 24 countries have taken part to race across all three classes this season.
The partnership between NASCAR and Team FJ has made the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series into a series that allow drivers to use NWES as a stepping stone to build a career in NASCAR. While no former Euro Series driver has made the jump to race full-time in the States yet, a total of four Euro Series competitors – Anthony Gandon, Anthony Kumpen, Alon Day, and Loris Hezemans – has made starts in NASCAR’s three national series – Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, and Gander Outdoors Truck Series, with 15 other drivers have also taken part in official NASCAR-sanctioned races in North America.
The extended partnership deal will mean that the future of the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series looks brighter than ever as the series will continue its dedication to bring the excitement of NASCAR races to Europe and became a platform that allows international talents to make a career in America’s biggest racing series.
Disclaimer: Unless noted, all photos used in this article are courtesy of NASCAR Whelen Euro Series.