Vittorio Ghirelli benefitted from his main rival’s heartbreaks to grab his first win of the 2026 NASCAR Euro Series season in Valencia.
Vittorio Ghirelli couldn’t have asked for a better day to score his first win of the 2026 NASCAR Euro Series season.
On a day where Gianmarco Ercoli, Paul Jouffreau and Jordan O’Brien all lost their winning chances to technical issues, Ghirelli held off the challenges from Garrett Lowe to bring PK Carsport’s No. 24 Rellumix Camaro to the Victory Lane in EuroNASCAR V8GP Race 2.
The win – Ghirelli’s 16th in EuroNASCAR’s top division – propels the Italian to the top of the EuroNASCAR V8GP standings heading to next month’s round at Paul Ricard.
“It was an amazing race!” said Ghirelli in Victory Lane. “We were a bit lucky as Paul Jouffreau had some issues as he was very fast.”
“These PK Carsport guys are the best, we had a few issues with a broken axle yesterday and worked hard all night. They stayed awake until 4 AM and now we were able to deliver the results. Still a long battle ahead, but we’re in for it.”
Jouffreau was indeed very fast, having built up a two second advantage when his front-right tire blew on lap 8. The Frenchman was able to bring his No. 3 RDV Competition back to the pits, but chose to retire shortly after.
O’Brien was the main beneficiary of Jouffreau’s retirement as the American received an unexpected chance to lead a V8GP race in just his second top class appearance.
Unfortunately, O’Brien’s dreams for a sensational victory evaporated after just a single lap. The rear axle on his No. 50 Sunset Immo Ford broke at Jaume Masiá corner, prompting his immediate retirement from the race.
O’Brien was understandably heartbroken, but is also positive as he showed that he can duke it out with the sport’s best drivers when given the opportunity.
That being said, O’Brien is in the need to gather more funding for a full-season campaign. As things stands, his deal with Hendriks Motorsport is only a one-off.
Ercoli was able to finish the race, but it was a close call for Race 1’s winner. Ercoli lost his power steering on lap 6 and tumbled down the running order from there on out.
Much like Beitske Visser in Saturday’s EuroNASCAR OPEN race, the loss of power steering resulted in the Italian running several seconds off the pace.
Such was Ercoli’s struggles that he was unable to bring his car back to the pits after he crossed the line in 12th. The Alumitec Racing driver slumped to the wall due to exhaustion, prompting a visit to the medical center for precautions after the race.
Fortunately for Alumitec, Nelson Piquet Jr. benefitted from the aforementioned issues to grab his maiden EuroNASCAR podium in third.
It was the Brazilian’s first top-3 stock car finish in over a decade, as his previous one came in the 2012 Winstar World Casino 400K at Texas Motor Speedway.
Piquet Jr. finished behind Garrett Lowe, who had what he believed to be the best car in the race. Lowe’s second place finish tied his career best from Oschersleben last year, but it was arguably a lot more impressive this time given that he competed with a flu.
Thomas Krasonis and Julien Rehberg completed the top-5 ahead of Thomas Toffel and Vinnie Meskelis. Their early retirements from Saturday meant that their tires are still relatively fresh for Sunday, giving them all the chance to finish high up the running order.
Sebastiaan Bleekemolen, Jack Davidson and Logan Bearden rounded out the top-10. Bearden’s No. 30 Rette Jones Racing Ford had a bit of a change for Sunday as it carried sponsorship from Virgin Media’s O2 daisy on the side, rather than the OnlyFans sponsorship present on Saturday.
With Kenko Miura absent due to an oil leak in his Team Japan Toyota, Giovanni Cartechini took the Challenger Trophy win despite a spin in the opening lap.
Miura was joined on the sidelines by Martin Doubek and Fabrizio Armetta. Doubek had to withdraw after being diagnosed with a potential hand injury, while Fabrizio Armetta’s No. 22 Dinoil Toyota was too damaged to be repaired in time.
EuroNASCAR V8GP Race 2 Results
EuroNASCAR V8GP Points Standings
Vittorio Ghirelli’s victory on Sunday, coupled with his Saturday podium, secured an early championship lead for the reigning two-time EuroNASCAR champion at the end of the 2026 Valencia NASCAR Fest.
With 74 points scored, Ghirelli has a five-point buffer to Junior Trophy overall leader Garrett Lowe, who in turn has a four point lead to Gianmarco Ercoli in third.
Jack Davidson and Sebastiaan Bleekemolen completed the top-5 ahead of Logan Bearden, the top rookie in the standings. Thomas Krasonis, Nelson Piquet Jr., Paul Jouffreau and Marc Goossens filled the top-10 positions with Jordan O’Brien sitting in 11th.
Giovanni Cartechini leads the Challenger Trophy competitors in 16th place. Miura, Doubek and Armetta propped up the tail end of the championship because they were subject to EuroNASCAR’s updated points system for non-starters.
Starting from 2026, anyone that failed to start will be credited with only 3 points. As a result, Miura, Doubek and Armetta only received three points for their Race 2 non-starts.
Full EuroNASCAR V8GP Points Standings
Disclaimer: Credits for all photos are listed underneath each image.