Thomas Krasonis became the first Greek NASCAR Euro Series champion in history with his triumph in the OPEN division – Martin Doubek ended his title reign with a victory in the Finals at Belgium
- Thomas Krasonis clinched his maiden OPEN championship trophy
- The Greek became the first NASCAR Euro Series champion from his country
- Martin Doubek closed his 2025 with a return to Victory Lane
The green flag has dropped on a new era! After 12 grueling races across six of Europe’s toughest tracks, Thomas Krasonis has officially clinched the 2025 NASCAR Euro Series OPEN championship. With a commanding 45-point lead heading into Sunday’s championship decider, Krasonis masterfully piloted his #13 PK Carsport Chevrolet Camaro, keeping it out of harm’s way. A solid third-place finish was more than enough to secure the title, as he celebrated in Victory Lane at Circuit Zolder alongside outgoing champion Martin Doubek and fellow competitor Thomas Toffel.
It was a tough and long journey to the summit of the NASCAR Euro Series OPEN division for Krasonis. He burst onto the scene in 2019, taking his first tentative steps into the unforgiving world of NASCAR racing. Krasonis fought tooth and nail, clawing his way forward and learned to be relentlessly fast lap after lap. He battled, scraped and honed his skills in one of the most challenging championships Europe has to offer!
A dream move to PK Carsport in the off-season facilitated the Greek’s path to success. The expertise of the Belgian team, coupled with the support of his driver coach Alon Day, sponsors, family and friends has allowed Krasonis to reach a new high in his career. A maiden OPEN division victory at Valencia was followed by five more visits to the Victory Lane. The speed and strong consistency were the key for the 23-year-old’s triumph in 2025.
“Now that it’s true, it’s a very weird feeling,” said Krasonis about his title. “We tried a lot and had many years in this championship. It took a lot of effort to keep improving. It’s extra emotional for me because this is a success my country has yet to see; I’m the first Greek to win a European NASCAR title. I want to thank my sponsors Costamare and Dodoni, my personal trainer Paul Timpas, my driving coach Alon Day, friends, family, and my amazing team PK Carsport, because without them, this wouldn’t be possible. I have no words; it’s incredible!”
Doubek held his head high and kept fighting all the way to the finish. The Czech took the lead at the start and held his advantage for all 15 laps. The Hendriks Motorsport driver promises to fight back in the 2026 season, where he’s expected to make a return to the team that gave him two championship victories in the OPEN division.
“Yesterday was more fun because I did a lot more overtakes,” said Doubek, who scored his fourth win of 2025. “It was good at the start. Nobody touched me and it was clean, then I overtook Thomas in turn 2. I wanted to enjoy the race and I enjoyed it. We’re back on Victory Lane. I’m happy for Thomas and I hope he’ll invite me to the party! Now I want to see the race in PRO because it’ll be an interesting battle between Vittorio Ghirelli and Gianmarco Ercoli.”
Toffel bounced back from his difficult Saturday with a runner-up finish, thereby proving his speed onboard the THT by Race Art Technology machine. Bruno Mulders ended his spectacular debut season as Master Trophy winner in fourth place. The young Dutchman beat Sandro Tavartkiladze, who completed his maiden campaign with back-to-back top-5 finishes in Belgium.
Patrick Schober crossed the line in sixth ahead of Melvin de Groot, who secured the Legend Trophy honors. Valentino Gambarotto took his first Master Trophy podium finish in eighth position, edging out Andres Beers by just 0.264 seconds. Claudio Cappelli and Michael Bleekemolen completed the Legend Trophy podium in 10th and 13th positions. An incident for Happinessa prevented the German from finishing her final race of 2025, but she still celebrated her success in the Lady Trophy special classification.
With a total of 544 points, Krasonis closed his season with a 33 point lead over Doubek in the standings. Mulders finished third as the Master Trophy overall winner with 482 points, 19 points ahead of Tavartkiladze. De Groot completed the top-5 positions with 451 points, thereby winning the Legend Trophy classification for drivers aged 45 and above. Lady Trophy overall victor Happinessa ended her year in 16th position. The top-3 season finishers and Trophy winners therefore secured their invitation to the NASCAR Awards at Charlotte, North Carolina.
The OPEN division has completed their 2025 season with plenty of excitement, but the spectacle in the NASCAR Euro Series does not stop here. Top drivers Vittorio Ghirelli, Gianmarco Ercoli and Paul Jouffreau will duke it out for supremacy in the final PRO race that will be broadcast live on the official EuroNASCAR YouTube channel and TV channels around the world starting from 15:10 CEST. Don’t miss out on what’s shaping up to be the most action packed ending in the official European NASCAR championship!
Featured image by NASCAR Euro Series / Nina Weinbrenner
