Beitske Visser and other participants of the first 2026 NASCAR Recruitment Test sessions spoke about their experience with the EuroNASCAR stock cars in Fontenay.
Ten drivers from around the world visited Circuits de Vendée in Fontenay-le-Comte, France on 4-5 December 2025 to take part in the first edition of NASCAR Euro Series’ annual Recruitment Test.
NASCAR Recruitment Test, as it is currently called, has provided many drivers with their first taste of stock car racing ever since it was first inaugurated in late 2017.
Now entering its ninth year of running, NASCAR Recruitment Test continues to fulfill its goal of finding new European stock car racing talents with the latest crop of drivers that could find its way to the grid for the upcoming 2026 season.
Notably, the first 2026 Recruitment Test featured only one veteran sign-up. However, it is still a very noteworthy name: Beitske Visser.
Visser already built a reputation as one of the world’s fastest female drivers with her success in the W Series. Now finding home in sports car racing, Visser was approached by her sim racing team BS+ Competition to take part in the 2026 NASCAR Recruitment Test.
Visser accepted the offer and went to Fontenay on 4 December to test the EuroNASCAR stock cars. Weather conditions prevented Visser from having a proper test in the dry conditions, but she expressed her enjoyment in driving the stock cars.
“So the first day in the EuroNASCAR was done here in France,” said Visser through BS+ Competition’s social media feeds.
“It’s been a very wet day, but I really enjoyed it. It’s something very different from what I’m used to, so I had to get used to the car a bit.”
Visser was joined on the day by 19-year old Brazilian-American Vinnie Meskelis. Meskelis was one of the three Americans to join the first 2026 Recruitment Test sessions, having started his career with Mazda’s Spec MX-5 Series.
“I’ve heard about the NASCAR Recruitment Test program through Instagram,” said Meskelis through EuroNASCAR’s social media post. “It was kind of last minute, but I immediately sent an application in and got accepted.”
“I had a few laps in the car in the wet and it’s a very good experience. Before, the fastest car I drove was a Mazda MX-5 Cup car with 190 horsepower, so the jump to 400 horsepower was big. But, it was quick to adapt and learn and felt like I got up to speed quickly.”
“Hopefully we’ll make a run in the championship next year and get some experience with NASCAR in the US as well.”
The other two Americans to take part were Michael Polasek and Matthew Salgado. Both drivers joined the Recruitment Test on 5 December alongside six other drivers.
In contrast to Meskelis, Polasek and Salgado barely had any real racing experience. However, that did not stop either driver from having fun in the Recruitment Test, which is open for drivers from all backgrounds.
“This is my first time driving anything like the EuroNASCAR car and I have to say, it’s a lot of fun!” said Polasek to nascar.eu.
“You can really control it and it feels like a big go-kart with the way you can control both the brakes and the throttle. It’s very challenging to drive on the limit, but I’m having a lot of fun with it so far and I hope to race in one of the divisions next year!”
“I’ve got no background in racing besides sim racing for the past couple of years,” said Salgado. “As soon as I saw NASCAR Euro Series had this drivers Recruitment Test, I immediately jumped on it and wanted to get some experience in a real car.”
“After driving for two sessions, I immediately felt comfortable with it! It’s a very fun car to drive and it emphasizes the driver’s skill. I didn’t push myself to the limit as it’s my first time, but I definitely love this car.”
Rasmus Pentti, Ossi Pohjanharju and Henri Timonen flew all the way from Finland to earn their first taste of the EuroNASCAR stock cars.
In true Finnish fashion, all three didn’t speak much and simply summed up their experience by saying that the car was “amazing to drive”.
Frenchman Stephane “Sean” Canivet trades his lightweight Funyo prototypes for the big stock cars, while Belgian karting talent Jens Beeusaert sees EuroNASCAR as his ticket to move up into professional racing.
The same aspiration was shared by Duje Ribaric, who wants to start his career by making history as the first Croatian to compete full-time in the NASCAR Euro Series.
“I came all the way from Croatia and I came here with the hope of a racing career here,” said Ribaric to nascar.eu. “I’ve been a dedicated racing fan ever since I was a kid and drove a lot of simulators throughout the years.”
“The car feels nice, I feel the similarities with the simulator. The brakes are pretty heavy compared to the simulator, as is the throttle. But the people here are pleasant and I really am a big fan of this. Hopefully I can drive them more.”
On a related note, the Recruitment Test was also used by Jack Davidson to begin his pre-season testing program. The Scotsman was driving his usual No. 21 Chevrolet Camaro, decked in an all-black livery after it received a refurbishing by Team FJ for the upcoming 2026 season.
Disclaimer: Credits for all photos are listed underneath each image.