Nelson Piquet Jr. returns to the NASCAR Victory Lane for the first time in 14 years after he grabbed his maiden EuroNASCAR win at Vallelunga.
Nelson Piquet Jr. is back on a NASCAR Victory Lane. The Brazilian got the Playoffs momentum that he needed after he held off teammate Gianmarco Ercoli for the win in the first V8GP race at Vallelunga.
It marked Piquet Jr.’s first win in EuroNASCAR’s top class, making him a race winner in four different NASCAR championships – the most out of any international driver in history.
The Heidelberg-born, Brasília-raised driver had previously won in what is now the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and ARCA Menards Series East.
Coincidentally, the date of Piquet Jr.’s maiden EuroNASCAR victory – 19 September 2026 – was just 10 days away from the 14th anniversary of his previous NASCAR victory: The 2012 Smith’s 350 Truck Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Piquet Jr.’s victory was a hard fought one. Not only did he battled Ercoli and pole sitter Thomas Krasonis, whom he passed for the win on lap 8, he also had to cope with the intense heat that caught him off guard.
“It was very hot!” admitted Piquet Jr. in Victory Lane. “I remember I told Ercoli that we were going to Rome in September and it’s not going to be so hot and he said: ‘Excuse me?’ It’s warmer than in Brazil!’”
“I wasn’t prepared for this heat, but it’s our first win in the NASCAR Euro Series. I’m really happy, I’ve been to America and won in Nationwide, Trucks, and K&N.”
“I’ve won in most of the divisions and I’m happy to put this in my CV. Thanks to the team, I know it’s been a struggle this year but it’s starting to pay off today. We got a 1-2 today and we have three wins now in V8GP. Congratulations to everyone in the team for their hard work!”
The heat took its toll on Krasonis, who was on the brink of exhaustion after the race. Krasonis admitted that the heat almost overheated his No. 13 Costamare Inc. Camaro, slowing it down just enough for the Alumitec duo to get past him.
Krasonis did, however, take the Junior Trophy win with his podium finish. He was followed by Challenger Trophy winner Thomas Toffel, who settled for fourth after he faded towards the second half of the race.
Fabrizio Armetta scored back-to-back top-5 finishes with his fifth place result. Garrett Lowe, Vittorio Ghirelli, Martin Doubek, Jordan O’Brien and Vladimiros Tziortzis completed the top-10 positions.
Paul Jouffreau had originally finished seventh on the road, but he was hit with a 10-second penalty after he bumped Ghirelli during an overtake attempt at the Soratte corner.
The Frenchman was classified 11th overall, but still grabbed the Junior Trophy podium because Jack Davidson and Vinnie Meskelis had worse luck than him.
Davidson was involved in an opening lap collision with Sebastiaan Bleekemolen that took out almost the entire rear bodywork of his No. 21 LUX Country Sports Bar & Grill Camaro.
Meskelis had to retire after his left-front axle broke at the start of lap 12. The American-Brazilian was running ninth when this occurred.
Davit Kajaia and Brad Ranson joined Toffel in the Challenger Trophy podium with their 13th and 15th place finishes. Both were involved in race-long battles: Kajaia narrowly lost out to Marc Goossens, while Ranson held off Brenna Schubert by just 1.635 seconds.
V8GP Race 1 Results
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