Reigning NASCAR Whelen Euro Series Champion Gianmarco Ercoli will return to CAAL Racing for the 2024 season. The Rome, Italy native will once again drive the #54 Chevrolet Camaro fielded by the powerhouse team led by Luca and Corrado Canneori. The 2023 EuroNASCAR PRO Champion is eager to defend his title and become the fifth multiple-time champion in the history of Europe’s official NASCAR championship. The 28-year-old is looking to further improve his consistency and pace to dominate his rivals from the beginning of the new season, which kicks off April 13-14 at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain.
“I would say that I won the 2023 season thanks to my strong pace, but I want to improve my lap times and work hard with the team to collect more important victories during the 2024 season,” said Ercoli, who found himself struggling with consistency at the end of the 2023 season. “We were the best team until mid-season, but we lost important championship points at the end of the year. We didn’t do a perfect job as a team to dominate the championship even more. So we want to work on our weaknesses and become the dominant force in EuroNASCAR PRO.”
Ercoli is a true NWES homegrown talent who went straight from karting to NASCAR racing. He won the 2015 EuroNASCAR 2 championship with a spectacular comeback at Zolder. At Brands Hatch in 2018, the Rome native became the first EuroNASCAR 2 champion to win a race in EuroNASCAR PRO. Since then, the Italian has become more and more of a title contender in NWES’ top division. After strong seasons in 2021 and 2022, Ercoli took the final step to become the fifth EuroNASCAR PRO champion, the first ever to win both EuroNASCAR titles. At the end of 2023, Ercoli traveled to Nashville, USA to receive the NWES trophy and his championship ring at the NASCAR Awards.
“The best moment of my career was definitely winning the EuroNASCAR PRO championship,” said Ercoli about his favorite memory in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series. With CAAL Racing, the driver coach has one of the most successful teams in EuroNASCAR history to help him defend the title. The Canneori family has won three titles in NASCAR’s premier European championship. After receiving the beautiful Tijey Trophy in 2023, Ercoli is looking to add another engineering masterpiece to his trophy case at home.
Ercoli will share the #54 Camaro with gentleman driver Sven van Laere from Belgium and lead the crew in setting up the Chevrolet to the best of its ability. But with the NWES season approaching, Ercoli and his partner Flavia Trani are also awaiting their first child, who is due around the April 13-14 season opener.
In 2024, the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series will visit seven countries and seven legendary tracks across Europe. Ercoli and CAAL Racing’s home race at the Autodromo di Vallelunga, near the Italian capital of Rome, will take place May 18-19. “Gimmy Jet” will surely be supported by tens of thousands of Tifosi when the V8 takes to the unique track that was designed by racing legend Piero Taruffi.
NWES PR
