Our second Race Preview for the 2024 American Festival of Rome takes a look at what we can expect from the EuroNASCAR PRO drivers and Trophy battles at Vallelunga.
NASCAR Whelen Euro Series is heading to Italy for the second round of the 2024 season, the American Festival of Rome at Autodromo Vallelunga. Located just north of Rome, Vallelunga is the longest serving Italian track in the EuroNASCAR calendar.
With plenty of memorable moments such as the title deciding dramas in 2021 and the victories of home crowd heroes in 2023, the Vallelunga round has resonated with the hearts of the tifosi and this year is expected to be no different.
A total of 53 drivers from 29 teams are set to enter across all three divisions, ready to give their best shot and make the 2024 American Festival of Rome the most spectacular one in its history.
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Italy’s motorsport culture is renowned for the tifosi, the group of supporters that will enthusiastically support Italian drivers and teams on events at home soil.
They demanded the best out of their compatriots and this can be both a boon and a blessing for PK Carsport’s Vittorio Ghirelli and CAAL Racing’s Gianmarco Ercoli, the two strongest Italian competitors on the grid.
Ghirelli and Ercoli have taken wins at Vallelunga before and they are certainly going to be pushing to sweep the races this weekend, not only to satisfy the tifosi but also to fulfill their current needs in the championship.
A sweep at Vallelunga for championship leader Ghirelli is the ultimate proof of statement to show that he has leveled up his game in 2024. In Ercoli’s case, success at home would significantly decrease his deficit after he started his title defense on a troubled note at Valencia.
Tifosi’s support is going to be justifiably focused on Ghirelli and Ercoli, but there are also seven other Italian drivers that the fans will root and cheer for in EuroNASCAR PRO.
Dario Caso and Max Lanza carried strong momentum from their strong Valencia result and wanted to score more top-3 results in the Challenger Trophy. The Club Motorsport’s duo of Riccardo Romagnoli and Fabrizio Armetta also had the potential to make surprises in the finishing results.
It is vital for The Club’s duo to score as many points as possible because their problems at Valencia left them in 21st and 24th place in the standings respectively. At the very least, they would want to avoid a repeat of either Romagnoli’s double DNF or Armetta’s disqualification at their home race.
Davide Dallara has been given the chance to race SpeedHouse Racing’s No. 64 Ford Mustang. With a strong equipment in his hands, the 2020 Challenger Trophy champion wants to show that he had what it takes to compete against the best EuroNASCAR drivers.
For Mario Buscemi and Paolo Valeri, their goal at Vallelunga will be relatively mundane. Simply finishing both races will be ideal as the weekend is set to be their debuts in EuroNASCAR’s top division.
However, the Italian drivers are not going to be the only main show for the Vallelunga weekend. Far from it, in fact, as competitors from all around the world are all ready to earn the recognition of the rabid Vallelunga fanbase.
Frenchman Lucas Lasserre is the closest driver to Ghirelli and has a strong finishing record in Vallelunga, claiming three podiums in six starts. SpeedHouse’s owner-driver is renowned through his ability to consistently maximize his results and it is expected that he continues to do so this weekend.
Experienced veteran Marc Goossens is currently tied with Lasserre in points after his best start to a season. The Belgian’s plan to turn his Vallelunga luck around will be aided by his machinery as he drove the same car that Ghirelli took to the Victory Lane in 2023.
Ulysse Delsaux and Thomas Toffel are both on the verge of their first top-5 finishes of the season. Toffel in particular has noted his weakness from the previous round and understood what he needs to improve if he wants to keep Race Art Technology at the top of the Endurance Teams Championship.
Also to keep an eye are Bremotion’s Tobias Dauenhauer and Academy Motorsport’s duo of Vladimiros Tziortzis and Patrick Lemarie, all of whom are bonafide contenders for podiums and victories in Italy.
The battle in Junior Trophy is expected to be as fierce as ever. Trophy leader Paul Jouffreau, whose participation is now confirmed, returns to the site of his first podium with a lot of scrutiny following his recent scandal that has led him to receive a two-year probation from EuroNASCAR.
On a more positive note, all eyes will be focused on Hendriks Motorsport’s Liam Hezemans. Given Liam’s past heroics in EuroNASCAR 2 where he overcame a 10-second penalty to win outright, the 21-year old will be one of the leading candidates for both Trophy wins and the overall victory.
Thomas Krasonis will be pushing for more top-10’s to keep him in the hunt while Ryan Vargas continues his familiarization with the EuroNASCAR stock cars on the American’s first trip to Italy.
Challenger Trophy is currently led by Thomas Toffel, having taken on the reins of Armetta as the latter’s promotion to Grade B status meant that he’s ineligible to defend his special classification title in 2024.
With Race Art’s positive mid-season test at Vallelunga a few weeks ago, the Swiss driver is prepared to remedy the mistakes that he made last year. Interestingly for Toffel, unless Reza Sardeha truly participates, he will be the only non-Italian driver in the Challenger Trophy.
With Caso, Lanza, Romagnoli, Valeri, Dallara and Buscemi making up the opposition, the driver of the No. 34 SIMATOK Camaro will have a giant target placed in his back as the Italians are all eager to stand on the top step of the Challenger podium in front of the tifosi.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
Disclaimer: Credits for all photos are listed underneath each image.