Autspeedway American Style - ELITE 1 RACE 2
KUMPEN NOTCHES FIRST OVAL WIN
Leads Vilarino And Iannetta Under The Checkered Flag
Raceway Venray, Netherlands - May 24th, 2015 - At the end of 60 intense laps at Raceway Venray, in the Netherlands, Anthony Kumpen (#24 PK Carsport Chevrolet SS) bagged his first win on an oval track, edging the TFT duo of Ander Vilarino (#2 TFT-Banco Santander Chevrolet SS) and Romain Iannetta (#7 TFT Chevrolet SS) under the checkered flag. This is the second career win for the reigning NASCAR Whelen Euro Series Champion, who is also the fourth different winner in the first four races of the season.
PHOTO - CREDITS: NASCAR WHELEN EURO SERIES / STEPHANE AZEMARD
“Yesterday we were unlucky, there was an incident with another car and we had to work very hard during the night to prepare the car. My team did a fantastic job, they stayed up all night,” said the Belgian, who gained important points for the title hunt. “They look very tired but I want to dedicate this victory to them. We did a good job as a team. It was a little unexpected today. I expected the win yesterday, but not today. We have to enjoy this one and prepare for the next race.”
Saturday’s winner Nicolò Rocca (#56 CAAL Racing Chevrolet SS) started from the pole, but it was Eddie Cheever III (#51 CAAL Racing Chevrolet SS) who took the lead from the outside in the first lap, while Rocca sled to fourth. Cheever had to give up the position because he overtook his teammate before the start-finish line and it was Kumpen who inherited the lead, just before a caution on lap 5. Kumpen restarted in front of Gabillon and kept the lead, while Cheever climbed back to third, with Ander Vilarino (#2 TFT-Banco Santander Chevrolet SS) right behind him.
The four drivers built a good margin on the rest of the field, led by Rocca and Iannetta, but a flat tire for Bert Longin (#11 PK Carsport Chevrolet SS) brought out the second and final yellow flag of the race with 25 laps to go. Vilarino and Iannetta took advantage of the following restart to jump to second and third, while Gabillon sled back to fourth.
Kumpen and Vilarino battled it out in the final laps. The Spaniard, who had to skip qualifying to allow his team to finish repairing the car on Saturday, tried some moves on the rival, but couldn’t make them stick and had to settle for the second place.
Iannetta confirmed the good feeling he found with the Dutch track finish on the podium again, while Gabillon took a solid points finish with the fourth place, as did Cheever, who managed rounded out the top-5 and led the Junior “Jerome Sarran” Trophy classification. Wilfried Boucenna (#4 Dasi Racing Ford Mustang) took sixth ahead of Rocca and Philipp Lietz (#67 GDL Racing Ford Mustang) – the Austrian driver also led the Challenger Trophy classification.
Alon Day (#54 CAAL Racing Chevrolet SS) and Hugo Bec (#8 RDV Compétition Ford Mustang) closed the top-10.
Vilarino keeps the lead of the championship and leaves Raceway Venray with a 3 points advantage on Cheever. The italian brings home important points thanks to a solid week-end and save the second place of the general classification, in front of the Race and Win Award Pole Award leader, his teammate Nicolò Rocca.
Currently fourth after his victory, defending champion Kumpen will try to close the gap on Vilarino on June 6-7 at Brands Hatch. The third edition of the American Speedfest is coming!
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