Race for NASCAR machinery planned at new USA Snetterton 300 event

The contest has been inspired by the growing number of NASCARs that have conducted demonstration runs at the American SpeedFest at Brands Hatch in recent years.

INSIGHT: The "creative" tactic MSV is using to boost national racing spectator figures

MSVR’s competitions manager Joe East has been working with one such driver, Simon Chalkly, on the idea of a race now the group of regular NASCAR demo participants has grown to between 15 and 20 car owners.

“A few members of the group decided to take their ARDS tests to obtain a race licence, with the aim of helping their understanding of how things work on track both inside and outside of the car,” explained East.

“After many years of demonstrating at MSV’s American SpeedFest, Simon Chalkly came up with the idea to start a race series for these American imported cars as interest kept growing, with more cars being imported.

“Working together with Simon’s NASCAR knowledge and contacts, and MSVR’s extensive knowledge of running race series, we hope this could be the start of something unique and special that will really add to the appeal of the on-track action.”

The exact eras of NASCAR machinery that will be eligible for the race have yet to be determined, although it is likely to be for post-1990 cars.

SpeedFest demo (Photo by: Gary Hawkins)

East said the inaugural race at the 7-8 September Snetterton meeting is a “toe-in-the-water exercise” to gauge enthusiasm for the idea.

“We are going to see how it goes, then evaluate the level of interest from competitors and how the racing feels and looks to spectators,” added East.

“Ultimately, we want to put on an entertaining show for them as well as giving the owners of the cars the chance to really open them up and find the limits of what they can achieve.

“We know that we are very unlikely to reach capacity grids with these types of cars, but the noise and sight alone creates such a spectacle that we don’t feel you need that.”

Should the Snetterton encounter prove a hit, a calendar of events could be developed for 2025 that potentially includes SpeedFest and Oulton Park’s US AutoShow.