CAAL Racing's NASCAR season begins on top

Valencia, Spain - It was a sensational start of the season for CAAL Racing. In the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series opener at Valencia, the Italian team delivered one overall win with Eddie Cheever III, the ELITE 1 pole position with Nicolò Rocca and reached six podium finishes in four races in front of over 20,000 Spanish fans. The CAAL Racing drivers also dominate the Trophies classifications: Cheever and Rocca shine with a one-two lead the ELITE 1 Junior "Jerome Sarran" Trophy, while in ELITE 2 Carole Perrin leads the Lady Cup.

Eddie Cheever III was the greatest protagonist in the ELITE 1 Race 1. Starting from the third spot on the grid, the Rome-native driver took second position at the start, close to teammate and pole sitter Nicolò Rocca. During lap 4, the yellow #51 SS found the gap to overtake Rocca and took the leadership, maintaining it until the checkered flag. In the Saunday race, Cheever started fourth, but after an eventful first lap he was back in ninth. He didn't give up and with a smart race came back up to the fourth position, exiting Valencia second in points, just two behind the leader.

"I'm very happy about my week end! We were fast and competitive  in every session from Thursday. The team did an excellent job on all the cars. Nicolò, Alon and me were competitive in each moment of the race. We have to keep on working to stay at this level," said Cheever, who sits first in the Junior "Jerome Sarran” Trophy. "One year in the European NASCAR taught me a lot of things, in the second race I came back until it was possible and safe, and then I preferred to settle myself for a fourth place. With this points system, if you want to win the championship you have to see the checkered flag in every race." The next round of the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series will take place at Raceway Venray, an half-mile oval making its debut in the series: "It's a new track for everyone, I think it's much faster than Tours. It's a typical US short track. We have to get used to this kind of tracks!"

Nicolò Rocca has finally pulled out of last year's bad luck streak. Very fast during test sessions and practice sessions, the young driver from Migliarino entered the Superpole easily and posted a perfect lap, gaining his first NASCAR pole position: "It was a positive weekend, we were competitive since Thursday. I found a good feeling with the car early and this helped me a lot to stay on top during all the weekend." said Rocca, 3rd in Race 1 and runner up in the Junior "Jerome Sarran" Trophy. "The pole position is definitely a good start, it is the first pole of the year, my first pole in NASCAR. In the Superpole we were all very close, but I was able to make a good lap and set the pole. The first race went quite good, in the second one I suffered a contact that pushed me in the back. But I'm happy because I saw we have a very competitive car. This is the most important thing for the championship."

Alon Day made his NASCAR  debut on the #54 CAAL Racing Chevrolet SS. The Israeli driver showed great performances, as his two teammates, but had a bit of bad luck in the ELITE 1 Division races, finishing 9th and 19th after a contact in Race 2. In the ELITE 2 Division, the French Carole Perrin collected a win and a second place in the Lady Cup, becoming the trophy points leader. "I didn't drive a race car on a road course since two years. In Valencia I had a new team and a new car, so, I think I obtained good results. I leave Valencia with the 8th position in points and the first in the Lady Cup" said said the Saint-Etienne native, first female driver to set a pole position in the European NASCAR in 2012. "CAAL Racing is a great team and the car is fantastic, very competitive. I think we could try to be ELITE 2 champion this year."

The next round of the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series is scheduled on may 23rd and 24th on the half mile oval of Venray, Netherlands, the first of the two oval racing weekends included in the EuroNASCAR schedule.