New champ says NASCAR Whelen Euro Series on rise
When it comes to racing in Europe, Formula One and MotoGP are king. However, the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series is gaining in popularity and competitiveness, according to three-time champion Ander Vilarino.
The Donostia, Spain native earned his third series championship this year, besting Alon Day by 35 points with three wins, nine top fives and 12 top 10s in 12 events.
"More and more people come to the tracks," Vilarino told FOXSports.com. "We have attendances that are really unbelievable in Europe. The number of people that come and buy their tickets just to see us racing is amazing."
The series races on the same course at Valencia as MotoGP, and track officials have told Vilarino the ticket sales rival those of MotoGP and Formula One.
"A lot of older series in Europe like GT, DTM, World Touring Car Championship -- which have been there for a long time -- they have never sold more tickets than NASCAR is doing now," he said. "It's the biggest championship in Europe right now, other than Formula One and MotoGP."
Vilarnio admits DTM is still bigger than the NASCAR series in terms of money and factory support, but when it comes to the love of fans, the stock-car circuit is much more popular.
"The fans are more ready to see a NASCAR race because it's more fun, and the DTM races, it's more for the brands. They invite their guests and customers (for DTM races), but people buy more tickets for the NASCAR races," explained Vilarino. "For example, the last event of the year is Brands Hatch in England, and this is amazing. There are about 50,000 people there, and I think it's almost like Formula One. But it's not like Formula One because they get 200,000 in the UK, but it's still amazing."
While the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series continues to grow in popularity, Vilarino believes it could become even more popular if it had consistent television coverage throughout Europe.
"There is no TV that is seen by a lot of people in all of the countries," he said. "If you get a contract with one TV station, the problem is this TV station is maybe in France, but not so much in England and not at all in Spain. This is the difficult thing we have in Europe. That is the only thing that makes it difficult to grow faster and faster. Because for the fans, I promise you I've never seen anything like this before."
While 2014 series champion Anthony Kumpen is attempting to make a splash in NASCAR's American series, Vilarino does not have the same budget support, and is happy remaining in Europe.
"I think things in Spain are much more difficult than they are in Belgium at the moment. It's very difficult to find sponsors to do our job," said Vilarino. "I'm already very happy to be racing in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series. I'm proud of it and I'm proud to be a three-time champion.
"We were at the NASCAR Hall of Fame, and to see my name there three times in the Whelen Hall of Champions, it's unbelievable," he said. "To see all the names of champions from the Sprint Cup, XFINITY and Truck Series, all the touring series and the international series, to have your name there three times is great."
