Tobias Dauenhauer becomes the first German to win a NASCAR race

Tobias Dauenhauer (22) came, saw and conquered. A dream start in the hard-fought NASCAR Whelen Euro Series for the young German from the Odenwald region. In the first race at Vallelunga near Rome in Italy, he achieved something no other driver anywhere in the world had done before. With his 400 hp strong Ford Mustang V8, excellently prepared by Dutch team, Hendriks Motorsport, he posted the fastest time of all 19 drivers in practice, ended up fastest in qualifying, drove the fastest race lap and scored a commanding win in his maiden race . And he delivered exactly the same achievement with fastest time in qualifying, fastest race lap and victory in the second race, too. And the icing on the cake: he became the first German racing driver to win a NASCAR race, never mind two! What a display! “I am simply lost for words, I wouldn’t have thought about this even in my wildest dreams,” he tried to express his feelings while remaining humble after this overwhelming success in Italy.

It all started back in November 2019 during Tobias Dauenhauer’s first test at the track of Fontenay le Comte in France. In the presence of NASCAR Whelen Euro Series boss Jérôme Galpin and Roy Hendriks, team principal of the 2019 championship-winning team, his extraordinarty skills already became apparent after his first miles at the rain-soaked track. He was one of the best drivers right away!

After two days of testing, Roy Hendriks and his new sponsor RZ-Oil immediately signed Dauenhauer, a car technician by profession, for the 2020 season. Delighted by this praise and support, Dauenhauer started his preparations for the 2020 season.

But then, Covid-19 got in the way. Some races were postponed, others were canceled altogether. As a result, it was only at Vallelunga in September that Dauenhauer was able to compete in his first race – with an outcome he had never expected himself. “During test sessions at Hockenheim and Zolder, I first had to get used to the equipment: no driver aids, no ABS, pure racing! Here, it is the driver rather than the technology that decides about victory or defeat. “

Tobias Dauenhauer’s career path is identical to that of famous compatriots like Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel, with karting as the first step.

2006, he started in kart slaloms and successfully continued with kart racing: he collected national and international championship wins like other collect autograph cards. He racked up no less than 13 championship titles and scored podium finishes in world championship rounds prior to making the step to touring car racing in 2016.

He successfully raced Porsches, BMWs, a Renault Mégane and was able to get his first experience in GT racing with an Audi GT3 in the legendary 24-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps in 2018. And now a pair of wins in the 2020 Euro NASCAR series at Vallelunga in Italy.

What a successful journey for a racing driver who wants to become a professional. As the leader in the

NASCAR Whelen Euro Series drivers’ standings, Tobias Dauenhauer will be heading to Zolder (B) where the next round will take place on 3 and 4 October.

Tobias Dauenhauer PR