Australia and the United States will be represented in EuroNASCAR this year with Max Mason and Nick Strickler, who will make their EuroNASCAR 2 debuts with Racingfuel Motorsport in 2023.
Racingfuel Motorsport has announced the team’s first entries for the 2023 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season with the reveal that Australia’s Max Mason and America’s Nick Strickler will be joining the Swiss-based team for their debut season in EuroNASCAR 2 on 21 March 2023.
For Max Mason, the announcement serves as the confirmation on which team he is set to compete with this year. Mason had already announced that he will be joining EuroNASCAR on 16 February 2023 following his participation in the Drivers Recruitment Program, but he didn’t reveal the team that he was due to race with at the time.
“The car is really fast, the team is professional and the series is a lot of fun. I am looking forward to the season and I am extremely motivated to get the most out of the car,” said Mason, who will drive the No. 58 Chevrolet for the full season this year.
“Most of the tracks are new to me, so my learning curve will be quite steep. However, the team has a state-of-the-art simulator at their workshop, which means I have the perfect conditions for preparing myself. Also, I am grateful to Simattack for their support.”
The 16-year old driver from Central Coast had previously driven one of Racingfuel Motorsport’s Chevrolet Camaro last year when he made his series debut in the EuroNASCAR Club Challenge division at Zolder.
Mason’s performance at Zolder impressed Ferruccio Finkbohner, Racingfuel Motorsport’s Team Principal, who was there to see Mason making his EuroNASCAR debut in Racingfuel’s No. 58 Chevrolet.
“We have already been working with Max, so we knew about his talent,” said Finkbohner on Mason’s performance at Zolder. “I am sure that he will adapt to the car and the series quickly. We are confident that we are ahead of a successful season.”
Joining Mason as his teammate in the No. 94 Racingfuel Chevrolet this year is Nick Strickler, the 23-year old from Danville, California. Strickler, who had a Swiss heritage in his blood, will become the first American driver to compete full-time in EuroNASCAR since Julia Landauer’s sole full-season campaign in 2020.
“It all started when my grandfather bought me my first sports car when I was a teenager,” said Strickler, who explained his past racing background to euronascar.com. “That car gave me the opportunity to start racing. I gained experience at track days and autocross events until I finally found a way to race wheel to wheel.”
“Having Swiss roots, I am especially looking forward to racing for a Swiss team in EuroNASCAR this season!”
The announcement does mean that Racingfuel will completely overhaul their driver roster in EuroNASCAR 2. In 2022, Racingfuel fielded Alina Loibnegger as the team’s sole full-time driver in the No. 94 Chevrolet while the driving duties on the No. 58 Chevrolet was shared by Lenz and British driver Matthew Ellis.
“We had a good debut season in EuroNASCAR and are looking forward to the new season,” said Finkbohner on the team’s newest signings. “With Nick and Max, we have a great line-up for EuroNASCAR 2 and we bring an even more international flair to EuroNASCAR.”
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