Brands Hatch American SpeedFest III - ELITE 1 Round 5
IANNETTA RETURNS TO VICTORY LANE
The Frenchman Wins Thrilling Battle, Five Different Winners In 5 Races  
 
Brands Hatch, UK - June 6th, 2015 - Romain Iannetta found his way back to Victory Lane 2 years, 11 months, 27 days after scoring his maiden NASCAR win in Spa, Belgium by winning a thrilling first round in the contest of the Brands Hatch American SpeedFest. The Frenchman’s second career win also marks the fifth different winner in the first five races of the 2015 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season.    

PHOTO - CREDITS: NASCAR WHELEN EURO SERIES /STEPHANE AZEMARD

DRIVERS PROFILES: ROMAIN IANNETTA

RESULTS: PRACTICE | QUALIFYING | ELITE 1 ROUND 5

LINKS: SCHEDULE | ENTRY LIST | RACE CENTRAL LIVE | LIVE STREAMING | LIVE TIMING | TICKETS

Iannetta had a brilliant start from the eight place on the grid and moved up to fourth in the first lap, moving then to third when pole sitter and race leader Nicolò Rocca (#56 CAAL Racing Chevrolet SS) went off the track in the last corner on lap 4, leaving Eddie Cheever III (#51 CAAL Racing Chevrolet SS) in front of a tight seven-car pack. Iannetta then surged to the lead on lap 13, after dispatching Frederic Gabillon (#3 Tepac RDV Compétition Ford Mustang) and Cheever.

Jeffrey Earnhardt’s (#55 Whelen- Amai.fr Chevrolet Camaro) NASCAR Whelen Euro Series ended early when he found himself in the gravel outside turn 6, triggering a safety car period that dissolved Iannetta’s one-second advantage.

When the race restarted on lap 22 the Frenchman defended the lead, while Cheever surrendered two positions to gabillon and a charging Ander Vilarino (#2 TFT-Banco Santander Chevrolet SS). Iannetta never looked back and took the win in splendid fashion ahead of Gabillon, Vilarino and Cheever, also posting the fastest lap of the race that will grant him the pole position for Round 6.

"I was eight at the start, it was a tough race,” said Iannetta. “Some drivers made mistakes and i had opportunities to go on. My car was amazing, I want to thank my team for all the work they did. And we have the fastest lap in race so we'll start on pole tomorrow!"

The last few laps weren’t uneventful though, because Rocca charged back up to fourth, followed by his teammate Alon Day (#54 CAAL Racing Chevrolet SS), but the two touched with four to go and lost many positions, leaving fifth place to Anthony Kumpen (#24 PK Carsport Chevrolet SS), who scored important points and posted the second fastest lap of the race.

Florian Renauer (#5 Dexwet Renauer Team Ford Mustang) ended up sixth – and second in the Junior “Jerome Sarran” Trophy classification behind Cheever – just ahead of Fabrizio Armetta (#6 Double T by MRT NocentiniChevrolet Camaro), who won the Challenger Trophy classification.  

After posting the third fastest time in qualifying, Christophe Bouchut (#66 DF1 Racing Chevrolet SS) had problems with his car and had to retire from the grid before the green flag waved.  

Vilarino keeps a 3-point lead on Cheever in the standings, with Kumpen up to third.  

The ELITE 1 Round 6 will take place on Sunday at 1:25 pm CET and will be streamed live on fanschoice.tv, with live updates available on hometracks.nascar.com.  

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ABOUT NASCAR WHELEN EURO SERIES

The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series was founded in 2008 and established the NASCAR official European Series in January 2012 thanks to a long-term partnership signed with NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing), Team FJ, a Motorsports company located in Blois, France, and Whelen Engineering as title sponsor of the Series.The season is made up of 24 races, equally split among ELITE 1 and ELITE 2 divisions, on the best European tracks. Euro NASCAR introduced a stunning innovation on July 7-8, 2012 by organizing the first ever NASCAR race on an oval track in Europe on a half-mile speedway built in the downtown of Tours (France). With four races in two days, these 400 HP V8 monsters provide pure racing action and thrilling bumper-to-bumper battles as well as a lot of family fun around the track! In the pure NASCAR tradition, race fans can get closer to the action than ever and feel the unique in Europe paddock atmosphere thanks to drivers, teams and cars always available for the spectators.The series attracts drivers from all over the world, all willing to fight on track for the win and take the first step towards becoming a NASCAR star in the U.S.

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NASCAR WHELEN EURO SERIES •  RD 2152, Les Grands Champs - 4100 Saint Denis sur Loire, France • Phone: +33 2.54.45.54.45 • email: info@euronascar.com • website: http://www.euronascar.com • Twitter: @EuroNASCAR • Facebook: EuroNASCAR

PR MANAGER: GIAN LUCA GUIGLIA • Phone: +39 393 817 9546 • email: gguiglia@euronascar.com • Twitter: @gian_138