Whelen Euro Elite 2: Longin Wins Race And Title
Caps Record Setting Season With Dominant 8th Win
Gian Luca Guiglia, NWES
October 9, 2016 - 6:02pm
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After a dramatic 24th place in Saturday’s race, Stienes Longin (#11 PK Carsport Chevrolet SS) erased every doubt about the final result of the ELITE 2 Division Championship by leading every lap of the final race of the season and capping a record-setting 2016 campaign with his 8th win to claim the 2016 ELITE 2 Championship title.
“It is incredible! Yesterday we had such a bad day and today it was so amazing! To be here with my friends and family makes it that much more special.The car was simply fantastic,” said the Belgian, who perfectly handled a mid-race restart on his way to Victory Lane. “The restart was hard because Geltrude and Tineo were very fast. I was counting laps and sometimes counting turns. It’s crazy to win here and get my 8th win of the season to become the champion. We worked really hard for this all season long and we’ll continue to work hard during the off-season as we look forward to race in the ELITE 1 Division next year! We’re going to make it happen! I’m very proud of this team and very thankful for my sponsors.”
The Belgian started from the pole and led the entire race with a very dominant performance, crossing the finish line with a 1.6 seconds advantage on Salvador Tineo Arroyo (#54 CAAL Racing Chevrolet SS). The Spaniard took second from Riccardo Geltrude (#7 Double-T by Nocentini Ford Mustang) with a spectacular last-lap dive, who ended up third and won the Rookie Cup, coronating a splendid first season in NASCAR.
Title contenders Thomas Ferrando (#37 Knauf Racing Team Ford Mustang) and Gabriele Gardel (#24 PK Carsport Chevrolet SS) closed respectively fourth and fifth at the end of a close battle with Martin Doubek (#5 Dexwet Renauer Team Ford Mustang), who finished sixth. Justin Kunz (#44 CAAL Racing Chevrolet SS) was seventh and brought home his fifth top-10 of the season edging Guillaume Deflandre (#21 Team Raceway Venray Chevrolet SS) and Eric De Doncker (#98 Motorsport 98 Ford Mustang), who led the Legend Trophy classification. Luca Tosini scored another top-10 in his NASCAR debut weekend.
Jerry De Weerdt (#78 Brass Racing Ford Mustang) finished 15th and it was enough to claim the 2016 Legend Trophy, while Arianna Casoli (#56 CAAL Racing Chevrolet SS) was 19th under the checkered flag and won the 2016 Lady Cup.
Stienes Longin, Riccardo Geltrude, Jerry De Weert) and Arianna Casoli will all be rewarded in December during the NASCAR Champions Week at Charlotte, USA. The NASCAR Night Of Champions Touring Series Awards are scheduled for December 9th.
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