Four female drivers took the spotlight in Rookie Challenge at the NASCAR GP Czech Republic – Newcomers Robin Bleekemolen and Brenna Schubert competed alongside full-time entries Nicole Davidson and Happinessa
- The Rookie Challenge saw a record four female drivers participating in Czech Republic
- Robin Bleekemolen and Brenna Schubert made their debuts
- Nicole Davidson and Happinessa continued to gain experience in their maiden season
The Rookie Challenge keeps gathering more and more interest as the entry point of the NASCAR Euro Series. Four female drivers participated in the Rookie Challenge in the recent NASCAR GP Czech Republic, marking a new high for the regularity based competition designed for newcomers who want to try out the pure NASCAR experience in a friendly environment. Nicole Davidson and Happinessa have already competed since the opening round in Spain and they were joined by two debutants in the Czech Republic: Robin Bleekemolen and Brenna Schubert.
Robin is a third generation driver from the illustrious Bleekemolen family, which has a long history in not just NASCAR Europe but also motorsport in general. The daughter of Sebastiaan Bleekemolen wanted to follow her father’s footsteps after a visit to the American SpeedFest in the UK and achieved her dreams of competing in the NASCAR Euro Series alongside his father and grandfather Michael when she turned the wheel of the #69 Team Bleekemolen Toyota Camry in Most.
“Today I drove at Autodrom Most for the first time, and also the first time in the rain with this car!” said Robin after the event. “It was a great experience; you have three sessions where you have to drive consistently for a certain amount of time. The first session was very wet, so it took a lot of time to get used to the track and the car. The second session was less rainy, so it went much better, but we had some problems with the car, so I could only drive half the session. Unfortunately, due to some more car problems, I couldn’t drive the third session.”
Schubert made her maiden appearance with Club Competition in the #22 Chevrolet Camaro at Most. The 24-year-old driver from Pennsylvania has both engineering and sim racing background and wants to leave her mark as a professional driver. After competing in the Prodigy Racing League with BS+ Competition, Schubert gave the NASCAR Euro Series a try and is working on a potential first full-season campaign in 2026.
“So far it’s been a great experience!” said Schubert following her debut. “Starting out a little rocky as it’s my first time driving a race car in the rain. The windshield completely fogged up on my first lap out and I couldn’t see anything, so I had to retire after just one lap in the first session. Ultimately I only got sessions two and three, I didn’t finish well points wise because we didn’t have a reference lap from session one, but overall I’m happy with the times and the pace that I got.”
“I think I could’ve gone faster if I had the first session, but I really liked the car! Struggling a little bit with getting the shifting correctly as it’s different from what I’m used to. I never drove a stock car or heavy cars like this in general because I come from the Radical’s and karting. I would like to see where I stacked up in the dry as I put a lot of time in the simulator to practice for this track, but I’m also happy to get some experience in the wet. I think that’ll do me well for next season as I hope to come back if I get the sponsors.”
While Bleekemolen and Schubert took their first learning steps in Rookie Challenge, Davidson and Happinessa continues to gain experience behind the wheel of Lux Motorsport’s #21 Chevrolet Camaro and Bremotion’s #77 Chevrolet Camaro respectively. Nicole, the sister of PRO driver Jack Davidson, was the best female contender in the Czech Republic with two top-10 finishes. Nicole is sixth in the overall classification entering the double points Playoffs rounds in Germany and Belgium.
Happinessa, currently ninth overall, is maximizing her track time by competing both in the Rookie Challenge and in the OPEN championship. The weekend at Most was challenging for the German with mechanical issues impacting her performance, but she continues to gain valuable experience heading to her home NASCAR GP at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. Stay tuned for the next Rookie Challenge stories when the newcomers make their return to the track on 20-21 September.
Featured image by NASCAR Euro Series / Bart Dehaese
