Thomas Krasonis swept the NASCAR GP Czech Republic with another dominant race win in the OPEN division on Sunday – The Greek took over the championship lead before the start of the Playoffs
- Thomas Krasonis clinched first place on the OPEN regular season
- Martin Doubek barely missed out on a home victory and finished second
- Claudio Cappelli took his first podium of 2025
Sometimes you need just one chance to make it big. That’s how Thomas Krasonis completed his sweep in the OPEN championship at the NASCAR GP Czech Republic. The Greek restarted third on lap 5 after an early safety car period and grabbed his opportunity to pass not only Jordan O’Brien, but also home favorite Martin Doubek to collect two consecutive wins at Autodrom Most. The PK Carsport driver will therefore enter the double-point Playoffs as the championship leader and with four wins on his tally. The future is looking bright for the 23-year-old phenomenon.
“It was not easy as we are a little bit unlucky with the DNF’s we have this season,” said Krasonis in Victory Lane. “As Martin said in England where I was probably angry with his blocking, probably it will be the same for him here as I blocked a lot. It’s his home track, he wanted the win but we’re fighting for the championship. We had a clean and tough battle, I gotta say that. For sure we will have a good show until one of us is crowned champion. We are going to the Playoffs with a lot of excitement, everybody’s very hungry for the win and I’m happy to have these guys as my competitors.”
Doubek worked hard to secure a popular victory with Czech president Petr Pavel attending Sunday’s running of the NASCAR GP Czech Republic and handing the trophies on the podium. The Hendriks Motorsport driver will be wondering what could have happened if Krasonis didn’t make the pass on the outside at the chicane, but he still collected important points on his bid to become the first three-time OPEN champion.
Claudio Cappelli returned to the podium after a series of challenging races for the bearded Italian in third place. He also claimed the win in the Legend Trophy to close his deficit on long-time season leader Melvin de Groot, who lost the overall championship lead to Krasonis.
Another Trophy winner finished behind Cappelli: Thomas Dombrowski, first position in Master Trophy in fourth overall. O’Brien again showed immense determination and recovered from an unfortunate spin at the chicane to complete the top-5, which also gifted the American second in the Master Trophy.
Bruno Mulders was due to start alongside Doubek at the front, but engine-related issues forced him to venture into a comeback drive from the pit lane. Sixth represented a strong result for the young Dutchman, who rounded out the podium in the Master Trophy. De Groot is seventh to take home second place in Legend Trophy for drivers aged 45 and more followed by Sandro Tavartkiladze, Dominique Schaak and Florian Richard.
Michael Bleekemolen joined de Groot on the Legend Trophy podium in 12th with Happinessa grabbing the Lady Trophy honors in 19th. Round 8 was shortened after a red flag period caused by an engine fire of Happinessa’s #77 Bremotion Chevrolet Camaro forced race control to end the race under safety car conditions. By miracle, Happinessa’s car managed to keep its life going and the German was able to rejoin at the tail end when the safety car guided the field to the checkered flag.
Having entered the round in fifth overall, the sweep from Krasonis propels the Greek up to first position in the provisional standings with a total of 246 points with all drivers dropping their worst result of the regular season. Doubek is five points behind in second with de Groot sitting third as the Legend Trophy overall leader with 229 points. An early retirement for Patrick Schober placed the Austrian driver in fourth at 224 points with Master Trophy leader Thomas Dombrowski completing the top-5 with 222 points. Happinessa leads the overall Lady Trophy standings in 17th.
Race fans will get to enjoy one more race from the Czech Republic as the PRO drivers and teams gear up for the start of Round 8 at 14:50 CEST. Watch all of the action from the EuroNASCAR YouTube channel and TV channels around the world.
Featured image by NASCAR Euro Series / Bart Dehaese
