After claiming the pole Salvador Tineo Arroyo (#54 CAAL Racing Chevrolet SS) led from green to checkered in the ELITE 2 Race 2 at Brands Hatch, beating Stienes Longin (#11 PK Carsport Chevrolet SS) to the line and eliminating the Belgian’s chance to tie for the record for the most consecutive wins in a season.
“This is my first win of the season and it was a really tough one. Longin put a lot of pressure on me but I definitely had the best NASCAR race of my career. I am very happy because yesterday I made a couple mistakes that cost me the race but today everything was perfect! The CAAL Racing team did a great job and gave me a strong car and I really want to thank them, my fans and all my supporters,” said the 22-year-old, who brought home the second trophy of the day for CAAL Racing, who’s celebrating the team’s 40th anniversary in motorsports.
On a continuously drying Brands Hatch Indy Circuit, the ELITE 2 field started on slick Michelin tires for the final race of the American SpeedFest weekend and Tineo was able to keep the lead through two early cautions. After the second restart on lap 15, the Spaniard and Longin drove away from the competition, engaging in a close battle for the rest of the race. Tineo was perfect in defending the lead to the checkered flag claiming his first win of the season, the second of his NASCAR career, in front of a huge crowd of passionate fans.
Thomas Ferrando (#37 Knauf Racing Team Ford Mustang) managed to climb to the third step of the podium after falling back to sixth on the last restart. The Frenchman tried to defend second on the outside through Paddock Hill Bend but ended up losing several positions. The exciting battle for third delighted the fans as Ferrando edged Riccardo Geltrude (#7 Double-T by Nocentini Ford Mustang), who led the Rookie Cup classification. Eric De Doncker (#98 Motorsport 98 Ford Mustang) led the Legend Trophy by finishing a close fifth, just ahead of Gabriele Gardel (#24 PK Carsport Chevrolet SS). Christian Malcharek (#69 SPV Racing Ford Mustang) was seventh while Paul Guiod (#73 Knauf Racing Team Ford Mustang) notched his second consecutive top-10 finish in eighth. Jerry De Weerdt (#78 Brass Racing Ford Mustang) and Renzo Calcinati (#12 Virgin Radio Double-T by Nocentini Ford Mustang) rounded out the top-10. Erika Monforte (#6 Double-T by Nocentini Ford Mustang) brought home the Lady Cup with the 15th place under the checkered flag.
Despite originally crossing the finish line third, Hugo Bec (#3 Tepac RDV Compétition Ford Mustang) was relegated to 11th place after receiving a 30-second penalty for exceeding track limits.
Longin remains on top of the point standings with a 29-point lead over Tineo Arroyo and 64 over Geltrude. The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series will return to action on June 25-26 for the final race of the regular season at Tours Speedway. All the races will be broadcasted live on Fanschoice.tv.
