NASCAR may be the biggest form of motorsports in the United States, but for the rest of the world, the stock car racing series is still hugely eclipsed by other competitions. Europe is the hub of motorsports in the world, but stock car racing has never really been able to make a name for itself in that circuit. However, there may be change on the horizon with the NASCAR Euro Series which is not just attracting new fans from outside of the States, but is also tempting enough for some racers to ditch the National Series to race on foreign soil. And one of them is former Xfinity Series driver Ryan Vargas who recently listed down the positives of crossing the pond.

The time is ripe for NASCAR to invest in its European competition. The Netflix documentary did not just do well in the States as it penetrated the European market as well. It was among the top 10 most-watched shows in countries like Ireland, Latvia, Switzerland, Portugal, Croatia, Belgium, Estonia, the UK, and Norway as per a report. And with Hendrick Motorsports’ venture into Le Mans, fans on the other side of the Atlantic are certainly intrigued.

For NASCAR driver Ryan Vargas, it’s a win-win situation

The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series began in 2009, and over a decade later, it’s still going strong. As it turns out, the tourney is also pretty attractive to some American racers. Racing in the National Series is certainly something to be extremely proud of, but if one has the chance to race around some of the most iconic race tracks in Europe, letting that opportunity slide may also sting. So when Ryan Vargas had to choose between running a part-time schedule at home and full-time in Europe, he chose the latter.

In a recent interview with NASCAR YouTuber Eric Estepp, the 23-year-old said that he was living the dream of traveling around the world at such a young age. He ran a couple of races last year in Germany and Belgium as part of a part-time schedule. In 2023, the 23-year-old will run his first full NASCAR Whelen Euro Series with 3F Racing and the season’s action will begin in Spain.

“It’s just opportunity, right?..[..]..we obviously ran those two races last year in Germany and Belgium and after talking with them, we were just like, ‘Man this Euro series deal was very beneficial. I was able to go out there, I was able to hone my racecraft behind the wheel, get better on road courses compared to some of my very talented teammates out there’. The sponsor absolutely loved the coverage that they got and just getting out of that, we sat down and said, ‘This might be something that we want to do’..[..]…I’m 23, I get to travel the world and I get to race NASCAR stock cars on very cool race tracks. I love it. I think that this was probably the best move that I ever made,” he shared.

Ryan Vargas has been part of the American NASCAR system, but the opportunities to make it in a National Series have been hard to come by. Hence his move to the European competition. After securing the necessary sponsors, the choice was a clear one for the 23-year-old race car driver.

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Vargas hopes to fight for wins in Europe

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There will be seven double-header race weekends in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series in 2024 starting off at the iconic Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain, in April. After a couple of successful outings towards the end of last season in Germany and Belgium, Ryan Vargas hopes to be competitive and challenge for race wins and podiums. That’s something he wasn’t able to do in the National Series, so it will be like a breath of fresh air for the youngster.

“As a young race car driver, you always dream of racing all over the globe. It’s something I wanted to do. Last season, in our two trips to Oschersleben and Zolder, we had an absolute blast running inside the top 10 and showed tons of speed against the quality competition in the series,” he said as per motorsport.com.

“I am not a road racing driver by trade, but I have always had a ton of confidence on the road courses. We’re not going to be there to parade around, we’re entering this season with the goals of being competitive and having that outside shot at wins and podiums. That’s something I haven’t been able to do in a long time, and it’s pretty refreshing to say the least; as the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series platform allows for this kind of parity,” he added.

It will be interesting to see a stock car racer from the States square off against some of the best in Europe in their backyard. How do you think Ryan Vargas will do in the 2024 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series? Let us know your thoughts.

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