NASCAR Whelen Euro Series announced on Monday that they will postpone the 2021 season opening round at Valencia to 14-16 May as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions in Europe, with the round at Vallelunga shifted back to fall as the new tentative final round of the season.

NASCAR Whelen Euro Series will postpone the start of the 2021 season after the series announced on Monday that the 2021 season opening round, Valencia NASCAR Fest at Circuit Ricardo Tormo, will be postponed to May due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation in Europe.

Valencia NASCAR Fest is now scheduled to be held on 14-16 May, the date that was originally scheduled for American Festival of Rome at Vallelunga. The round at Vallelunga itself was moved back into fall as the tentative final round of the season on a currently yet to-be-confirmed date.

The remaining 5 rounds of the season will keep their original dates in the revised calendar, albeit now they moved one spot ahead after Vallelunga’s postponement to fall.

While the number of COVID-19 cases has dropped significantly in the last few weeks after stricter restrictions was imposed and vaccination programs were started to be done across the globe, the ongoing restrictions in Europe forced Team FJ and NASCAR to postpone the rounds at Valencia and Vallelunga.

The series is hoping that the postponement would allow them to host all rounds of the 2021 season with fans spectating the races live on-track. Last year, only Zolder received permission to host their round with fans spectating live on-track, although the inaugural GP Croatia round at Rijeka unofficially had hundreds of spectators spectating from the track’s outside perimeters.

“We are continuously monitoring the situation in Europe and are fully engaged to take the best decisions for our fans, partners and competitors,” said NWES President/CEO Jerome Galpin on the official announcement.

“We all hope the situation will get better in the coming months and think that pushing the EuroNASCAR season opener few weeks later can allow us to welcome fans at the racetracks and offer to everyone involved a great American Show in the pure tradition of the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series. We look forward to seeing you soon, Pure Racing fans!”

REVISED 2021 SEASON CALENDAR

ROUND (RACE) DATE RACE NAME CIRCUIT
1 (1) 15 May NASCAR GP Spain – Valencia NASCAR Fest Circuit Ricardo Tormo
1 (2) 16 May
2 (3) 19 June NASCAR GP Czech Republic – Autodrom Most NASCAR Show Autodrom Most
2 (4) 20 June
3 (5) 3 July NASCAR GP UK – American SpeedFest VIII Brands Hatch Indy Circuit
3 (6) 4 July
4 (7) 17 July NASCAR GP Germany – American Fan Fest Hockenheimring National
4 (8) 18 July
5 (9) 18 September NASCAR GP Croatia Automotodrom Grobnik
5 (10) 19 September
6 (11) 9 October NASCAR GP Belgium – EuroNASCAR Finals Circuit Zolder
6 (12) 10 October
7 (13) TBA NASCAR GP Italy – American Festival of Rome Autodromo di Vallelunga
7 (14) TBA

Disclaimer: Unless noted, all photos used in this article are courtesy of NASCAR Whelen Euro Series / Stephane Azemard.

By Reza Maulana

Owner of World of EuroNASCAR. Official member of the EuroNASCAR media team. Long-time motorsport fan from Indonesia.

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