Marko Stipp Motorsport has signed Nick Schneider for the 2023 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season. The 18-year-old was one of the fastest drivers in the 2023 Driver Recruitment Program and left his mark at the NWES test track in Fontanay Le Comte, France. The German-Brazilian will make his debut in the EuroNASCAR 2 championship and will compete for the Rookie Trophy title. The Zwickau native will drive one of the two Chevrolet Camaros fielded by the German organization led by team principal Marko Stipp.
Schneider will be trying to follow in the footsteps of Lasse Soerensen and Liam Hezemans, who both won the EuroNASCAR 2 Championship in their first year in the European NASCAR championship. The 18-year-old has touring car experience under his belt and knows how to prevail in close and intense races. Driving a 400-horsepower V8 beast without any electronic aids will be a new challenge for the youngster from Germany.
“I want to integrate well into the championship and at least finish in the top 10,” said Schneider. “I love the raw and pure nature of the cars and the championship, and I’m looking forward to the battles and the speed on some of the best tracks in Europe.” A simracer and watch collector in his spare time, Schneider is still a student attending school in Germany. Motorsport was part of his childhood as he started karting at a young age and his grandfather was active in rally racing.
“Very importantly, I put a lot of emphasis on culture and multilingualism,” said Schneider, who will bring more international flavor to EuroNASCAR. “My nationalities make me who I am, and in a world that is becoming more and more interconnected, I believe that embracing cultural identity is of great benefit. I’m really looking forward to representing Germany and Brazil on the NWES grid. I learned a lot about the different aspects of NASCAR and how the car affects the driving. Especially the torque curve of the engine, the construction of the chassis, the tires and the transmission were unique on track. All in all, I’d say I learned a lot about the personality of the car and was able to feel my way around the Fontenay circuit quite well.”
The 2023 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series will kick off May 6-7 at the Circuit Ricardo in Valencia, Spain. All qualifying and race sessions will be streamed live on EuroNASCAR’s YouTube channel, Motorsport.tv and multiple television networks around the world. Schneider is the first of an expected four drivers for Marko Stipp Motorsport, and the team will announce additional drivers for the team’s roster in the near future.
NWES PR