José Antonio Peñalta talks about his successful 2025 EuroNASCAR Rookie Challenge season and future ambitions in an interview with Toni Vivó from Soul magazine.
EuroNASCAR’s regularity-based division Rookie Challenge has not seen a competitor as sensational as SpeedHouse Racing’s latest academy talent José Antonio Peñalta.
Peñalta shocked the EuroNASCAR paddock with his combination of speed and consistency. The Spaniard has won all four rounds of the 2025 Rookie Challenge season so far and is aiming to complete his campaign with a perfect sweep in the EuroNASCAR Finals at Circuit Zolder.
Peñalta is poised to make the move up to the big leagues in 2026, following the footsteps of past SpeedHouse academy talents Paul Jouffreau, Néo Lambert and Florian Richard who all moved to EuroNASCAR’s two main divisions after their successful campaigns in Rookie Challenge.
His story so far was chronicled by Toni Vivó from Spanish magazine Soul, who interviewed Peñalta for Soul’s October 2025 edition.
It was done prior to his participation in the 2025 NASCAR GP Germany, so he had yet to win the round in Oschersleben when Vivó conducted his interview.
Peñalta opened his interview by acknowledging Spain’s rich history in EuroNASCAR. The 17-year old said that EuroNASCAR used to have a “very strong Spanish representation”, referring to multiple-time champion Ander Vilariño and 2017 top-3 championship finisher Borja García.
Aware of their legacies, Peñalta said that he’s fighting hard to become the next Spanish NASCAR superstar.
“EuroNASCAR is a championship that once had very strong Spanish representation, but we haven’t had that for years,” said Peñalta. “That’s why we’re fighting to stay at the top and reopen NASCAR in Spain.”
Peñalta continued by highlighting the importance of the season finale at Circuit Zolder. Being the only Rookie Challenge round with double points, the Spaniard is aware that all of his advantage “can easily be erased” if he made one mistake in Belgium.
Peñalta continued by saying that he will remain happy even if he lost the title at Zolder, stating that his wins up until that point is “already an incredible reward”.
“The key is October 9th, when the final round is held,” said Peñalta. “It counts as double points, so any advantage you’ve accumulated can easily be erased.”
“In any case, the three wins are already an incredible reward. If you’d told me that at the beginning of the season, I would have signed for it!”
Out of all his wins so far, it’s no surprise that Peñalta chose the Valencia win as his best moment. Not only because it’s his home race, but also because all of his closest relatives were able to attend the event.
“Aside from the Valencia crowd, it was a Friday, so all my classmates and my entire family came,” said Peñalta. “It was very special because they can’t come with me to other circuits!”
Outside of the races, Peñalta is currently studying business at Valencia’s prestigious Escuela de Negocios en Valencia (EDEM).
He admitted that it’s“difficult” to manage both studies and racing duties. However, Peñalta’s working hard to secure a seat for the 2026 EuroNASCAR season.
The 17-year old Spaniard also acknowledged that budget and sponsorship is always a difficult talking point for racing drivers, especially those with a dream to achieve Formula One where Spain has two top talents competing in Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz Jr.
However, Peñalta also expressed his hope to remain active in motorsport in some capacity even after his career ends in the future.
“I’m currently at EDEM, starting out in business, and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to combine both,” said Peñalta. “Next year, the plan is to try to continue in EuroNASCAR (either Open or PRO) and explore all options.”
“But, from now on, the biggest limitation we drivers face is budgets, given that motorsports is one of the most expensive sports in existence. F1 is impossible for any driver without a major sponsor, and even then, there’s no guarantee of making it.”
“It’s also very difficult to get a return on that investment, since only three or four drivers in the world recover what they invested to reach F1. However, even if my professional racing adventure ends one day, I hope to continue driving on circuits as a fan.”
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