How NASCAR Euro Series transformed European motorsport culture

NASCAR has broadened the sport to a global level in many ways over the years. One of those was when they launched the NASCAR Euro Series, a series incepted in 2009 that has since gone on to become one of the most popular stock car racing series in Europe.

There are two championships in the NASCAR Euro Series, the PRO and OPEN series, with three categories of drivers, including professional, young, and gentlemen drivers. The professionals take part in the PRO series while the young talents and gentlemen drivers compete in the OPEN series. According to the series' website, it costs an average of 95,000 euros per season for a driver to race.

Per euronascar.com, the site states that fan engagement is the most prominent component of the series. The NASCAR Euro Series has continued to grow its audience since its start in 2009 and NASCAR took over as the official sanctioning body in 2012.

This past year, NASCAR Euro Series hosted 13 different races at seven different tracks across Europe. The series garnered 25,000 fans on average, with the highest-attended race being at Brands Hatch, which drew 49,500 fans.

The NASCAR Euro Series is very interactive for fans prior to the races as well. Fans get to see an up-close look at teams working on the cars, join the starting grid, or otherwise the "Grid Walk," and join in with teams and drivers for American festivals around the track's surrounding roads.

For fans who can't attend events, however, the NASCAR Euro Series can be watched free on YouTube along with TV partners worldwide. Clips of race highlights can also be found on YouTube for those who choose not to watch an entire race.

Overall, the NASCAR Euro Series has helped broaden the sport's reach and given career opportunities to European drivers and teams in the United States. The champions of the PRO series are recognized in America, as well, and invited to the yearly end-of-season awards banquet in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they're inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

NASCAR will make history with race in Mexico in 2025

NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Venue & Racing Innovations Officer Ben Kennedy during an interview at NASCAR Headquarters in Daytona Beach - Source: Imagn

The NASCAR Euro Series isn't the only facet that's helping bring NASCAR to an international level. In 2025, the Cup Series circuit will race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, the first international points-paying race in the circuit's history.

NASCAR executive vice president, and chief venue & racing innovation officer Ben Kennedy said in a statement that the move to Mexico is in a continuing effort to expand NASCAR's reach. He added:

“You can go back a few years, went to new markets like Nashville and Austin, Texas. We went to the Coliseum for the Clash. … We went to our first street race in downtown Chicago, and this is going to be another first for us in a lot of ways. This is going to be certainly a monumental event for us, the first time we’re going south of the border.”

The Mexico event replaces Richmond Raceway on the 2025 schedule. The 0.75-mile short track now has one scheduled Cup Series event rather than two.