Brazilian-American Vinnie Meskelis accepts an offer from a currently unannounced team to race in the NASCAR Euro Series for 2026.
Shortly after his participation in the recent NASCAR Recruitments Test at Fontenay, Vinnie Meskelis is set to make his NASCAR Euro Series debut for the upcoming 2026 season.
Meskelis announced his plans to join EuroNASCAR withan official announcement that EuroNASCAR released on 12 December 2025.
Meskelis is yet to announce his team for 2026, but it is confirmed that the Brazilian-American will join EuroNASCAR PRO straight away.
“I’m incredibly excited to begin this new chapter in my career by stepping into the NASCAR Euro Series PRO division,” said Meskelis to nascar.eu. “After driving the car for the first time during the NASCAR Recruitment Test, I knew immediately that this was the right next step.”
Meskelis was born in Brazil, but emigrated alongside his family in 2014. The Dallas resident dreamt of going pro from an early age and found his calling in Mazda’s Spec MX-5 Series, where he started his journey in motorsport.
Realizing that motorsport is an expensive sport, Meskelis began to save the earnings that he gained from mowing lawns in his neighborhood for six years, as stated in his profile at We Can All Race (WeCAR).
The advent of COVID-19 in 2020 turned out to be beneficial for Meskelis, as it allowed his parents – who had to work from home due to the pandemic restrictions – to accompany him during his training at the local tracks.
His skills were noticed by Mazda, who enrolled him in their Spec MX-5 Shootout program in 2024.
Meskelis proved his talents by winning the scholarship opportunity, allowing him to race in the 2025 Mazda Spec MX-5 Series with official factory support.
Besides his duties as an on-track driver, Meskelis is also a gifted engineer. He’s the lead testing engineer for Dallas Formula Racing, the Formula Student team for University of Texas where he’s currently enrolled as an engineering freshman.
With an opportunity to prove himself against Europe’s best stock car racing talents and his parents cheering him on, the sky is the limit for the 19-year old.
“They [my parents] are my No. 1 supporters and are doing everything in their power to help me achieve my dream,” Meskelis said to University of Texas reporter Kim Horner earlier this year.
Disclaimer: Credits for all photos are listed underneath each image.