NASCAR Brasil Series opens their 2024 season with a thriller as late drama played a factor in Leonardo Reis and Gabriel Casagrande’s victories at Campo Grande.
NASCAR Brasil Series provided fans with great action for the 2024 season opening round with late drama’s determining the race winner of both races at Campo Grande’s Autódromo Internacional Orlando Moura.
An Overtime finish gave Leonardo Reis the chance to score his first career victory in Race 1, only for him to suffer a heartbreaking engine failure late in Race 2 that handed the win to Gabriel Casagrande.
Two drivers also shared the victories in the newly-introduced Challenger class with Victor Andrade and Guilherme Backes taking the top spot in Races 1 and 2 respectively.
Race 1 Recap
Vitor Genz in the No. 46 FRUM Ford Mustang led the 23-car field to the green flag for the first race at approximately 9:15 local time. Genz, who won two races in 2023, held his lead while many drivers shuffled their positions on the opening lap.
Genz continued to lead until the first caution, which was called on lap 5 to recover Alexander Kauê’s Ford Mustang after he suffered a terminal mechanical issue on the front straight.
The race was restarted on the very next lap with Genz retaining his lead, but he had to defend his lead from Leonardo Reis, who started seventh onboard the No. 32 Cleveland Cavaliers Ford Mustang.
Leonardo, whose car was backed by Cavs legend Anderson Varejão, found his way past Genz in the back straight on lap 8. It was a fortuitous pass for the young Brazilian as he completed his overtake before the yellow flags were waved for a spin by Guilherme Backes.
Leonardo lost his lead on the second restart to Genz, but the green flag action was short-lived. Leonardo Yoshii and Edson Reis tangled on the final corner – the restart was done on the back straight – before a new lap had even started, forcing the Iveco safety truck to go out once again.
The ensuing Overtime restart proved to be a manic one as plenty of dramatic moments happened all over the field. Genz managed to get the jump on Leonardo but left the door open in the final turn, giving the impetus for the Cavs Mustang driver to overtake on the inside.
Genz’s race then got worse after he went off-track twice, once after being pushed by Lucas Mendes and another after he and Alex Seid touched at Turn 6.
Lower down the field, Dorivaldo Gondra Jr. crashed into rookie Gabryel Romano at Turn 1. Despite Romano not being able to continue, the officials decided to let the field race back to the line.
In the end, the chaos didn’t affect Leonardo as he took the checkered flag to score his first NASCAR Brasil Series career victory. Lourenco Beirao and Rafael Dias completed the podium after Mendes were penalized for his move on Genz.
The Challenger class was won by seventh-placed finisher Victor Andrade in the No. 22 XBRI Pneus Ford Mustang.
Andrade fended off a late challenge from Nick Monteiro, who took the final restart from the back after he had a spin just before Yoshii and Edson’s incident. Luis Trombini completed the final spot of the Challenger podium in ninth.
Race 2 Recap
Thanks to his pole position in the Superpole session, Leonardo got the opportunity to lead the field for the green flag in the second race. He once again showcased amazing race pace in the Cavaliers Mustang and was in the position to sweep the Campo Grande weekend when disaster struck on lap 10.
The engine on his car inexplicably died when he entered the back straight, forcing him to retire from the race. This handed the lead to Gabriel Casagrande, who took the checkered flag onboard the No. 83 Militec1 Chevrolet Camaro after he survived the Overtime restart caused by Leonardo’s retirement.
Just like Race 1, the race saw the caution being called three times. The first happened on lap 4 when Andrade suffered a rear-right suspension failure on the back straight.
Another Safety Car was also called on lap 8 due to contact between Antonio Junqueira and Witold Ramasauskas, resulting in the latter’s retirement as he was unable to get his No. 13 Ballena / Taxation Mind Ford Mustang going again.
Genz finished second, having run in that position for most of the race. Third overall went to Guilherme Backes, who took the Challenger class win in the No. 28 Stark Chevrolet Camaro thanks to an amazing final restart.
2022 Brazilian Championship co-champion Sergio Ramalho was fourth overall and third in the PRO class. Ramalho made his return to the series in 2024 as the new teammate of Mendes in the No. 27 Tube Surf Chevrolet Camaro.
Romano gained 12 places to finish seventh overall, enough to secure second in the Challenger class. The Challenger podium was completed by Nick Monteiro in a drama-free race for the former USF2000 competitor.
One consolation for Leonardo is that he had completed enough race distance to be classified in the final results. He was classified in 19th place overall and eighth in class, giving the youngster championship points that could be valuable in the future.
Disclaimer: Credits for all photos are listed underneath each image.