Czech President Petr Pavel made history as he became the first head of state to test drive the EuroNASCAR stock cars at his home track in Autodrom Most.
NASCAR Euro Series welcomed a very special guest when the paddock was setting itself up for the 2025 edition of NASCAR GP Czech Republic.
Czech president Petr Pavel visited Autodrom Most to not only meet EuroNASCAR’s stars and organizers Team FJ, but also to test drive the two-seater EuroNASCAR machine with the help of Hendriks Motorsport.
The two-seater machine was wrapped in the colors of Orion, the backers of Czech’s stock car racing hero: Martin Doubek, the first two-time EuroNASCAR OPEN champion.
“The NASCAR GP Czech Republic roared to life on Thursday with an unforgettable moment for local hero Martin Doubek and an unexpected guest of honor,” Andre Wiegold wrote for nascar.eu.
“Doubek, the reigning NASCAR Euro Series OPEN champion from Litomysl, took Czech President Petr Pavel for the ride of a lifetime in a two-seater NASCAR stock car provided to Hendriks Motorsport by Team FJ, the founder, owner and organizer of NASCAR in Europe.”
Pavel’s laps meant that he became the first head of state to test drive the EuroNASCAR stock cars. The 63-year old president describes the experience as an “unique” one, noting that the stock car is unlike any other car that he had ever driven.
“For me it was a unique experience,” said Pavel to nascar.eu. “I have tried a number of cars but this is really a full-blown beast.”
“Of course we tried not to damage the car but also to get some experience. It was the first time in this car, first time on this circuit, so we had to be careful!”
The best part of Pavel’s test is the display of courage that he showcased in his driving abilities. In spite of bad weather, Pavel chose to brave it out in the rain conditions – on slick tires nonetheless!
Such was the enjoyment that Pavel had with driving the EuroNASCAR stock cars that he turned what was initially planned to be a single lap outing into a ten lap drive, as revealed by Doubek who had a front row seat to Pavel’s historic test.
“When we headed out to the track, it started raining,” said Doubek to nascar.eu. “We did one lap, then I told him that we have to stop.”
“He then told me: ‘I think we still have grip’, so we did another ten laps in the rain, on the wet track with slick tires.”
Given the circumstances, Doubek was proud of the fact that his president was able to drive the EuroNASCAR stock cars in the wet without any mistakes.
“He did a really good job,” adds Doubek. “No mistakes. I think that he was really good and he can be a really good driver as well, and maybe next time he will drive with us!”
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