The NASCAR Euro Series has flown the flag for American stock car racing on the eastern flank of the Atlantic since 2009.
It has used the same chassis, built by series promoter Team FJ, since the beginning. Around this base, the organisers have established a reliable formula that simulates the loud, rough and tumble NASCAR brand of racing for an audience that otherwise wouldn’t get to see these cars in competition.
But the commitment to the same chassis (some from the early days are still in competition) might also give the impression that the NASCAR Euro Series is devoid of technological development.
However, the championship is pushing to ensure it keeps pace with an evolving motorsport world. It also wants to demonstrate its alignment with NASCAR, as one of three sanctioned international series – the others being in Canada and Mexico.
Next year, the NASCAR Euro Series will undergo a major technical overhaul when it introduces a manual sequential transmission. This is part of a gradual move to the ‘Gen 3’ car concept, a comprehensive upgrade of the current vehicle that will be rolled out in stages. The selected gearbox has been developed by Lithuanian manufacturer, Samsonas.
Since the start, NASCAR Euro Series drivers have shifted gears through a four-speed, h-pattern manual transmission. They have needed to employ delicate footwork to tame the 400bhp car, which is powered by a 5.7-litre 604 Crank V8 engine from General Motors.
From 2025, they will need to adjust to ‘blipping’ the throttle and pulling the lever to change gears through the sequential arrangement.
Why has the NASCAR Euro Series moved to sequential?
This isn’t the series’ first attempt at going sequential. In 2021, it allowed teams to fit a specialist actuator that converted the four-speed manual into a sequential shifter.
However, its reception was lukewarm as the drivers found little performance benefit for an optional modification that would cost extra money. No teams currently use the sequential shift option, but the Samsonas RS90 unit will become mandatory in 2025.
According to NASCAR Euro Series sporting and technical director Joe Balash, competitors had been requesting manual sequential transmissions ‘for years’. But evidently, the optional approach was not the right one. Balash expects gear shifts to…
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