Dominique Schaak aims for the Master Trophy in the second half of the 2026 NASCAR Euro Series season – The German also targets to race in the U.S. in the future
- Dominique Schaak aims to win the 2026 Master Trophy in the OPEN division
- The German also wants to race in stock car races overseas
- The 35-year-old highlights the perfect chemistry at BS+BREMOTION
At the mid-point of the 2026 NASCAR Euro Series season, Dominique Schaak finds himself navigating a classic racer’s paradox. On paper, the 35-year-old from Magdeburg is right where an elite competitor should be: sitting tenth overall in the OPEN standings and a razor-thin 20 points behind Maxim van Laere in the hunt for the Master Trophy. Yet, standing next to his #99 BS+BREMOTION Chevrolet Camaro, Schaak can’t help but look at the first half of the year as a tale of missed opportunities.
“Actually, not that satisfied,” Schaak admitted candidly when assessing his campaign so far. “So, it’s a bit of a dilemma. On one hand yes, on the other hand no. We’ve seen that the results could have been better.”
Speed has never been the issue. Schaak has frequently shown front-running pace in the highly competitive OPEN division, but racing luck hasn’t always mirrored his telemetry. “Especially in Valencia, you could see that I was clearly in the top-10 twice and had good speed,” Schaak reflected. “In the Master Trophy, if the steering knuckle hadn’t broken, we would have celebrated my first victory and I would have also stood on the podium in the second race. That was very unfortunate and very bitter, because that would have obviously been a good start and would have brought very positive points.”
When asked to grade his season using the traditional school marking system, Schaak doesn’t sugarcoat reality. “I would give the whole thing a school grade of 3 [C/Satisfactory]. We can see that we are fast, that we have pace and speed. We just haven’t managed to bring it into the races yet. It was always, and partly, unlucky – it wasn’t always in our hands.”
However, standard textbook statistics rarely tell the whole story of an independent team fighting against well-funded giants. BS+BREMOTION operates with surgical precision but tight constraints, a variable Schaak is quick to highlight when evaluating their competitive output.
“I always look at the whole thing in terms of what we, as a team, are using to contest the whole season,” he explains. “For instance, I think we haven’t had a new set of tires in any free practice session except in Valencia. We don’t have a large testing quota; we went testing once in Paul Ricard and once in Valencia. I think we are quite far behind when it comes to the number of tests, and I always have to say, what we get out of the possibilities we have is, I think, always the best we can do.”
One of the undeniable catalysts behind the team’s upward trajectory is the robust relationship between Schaak and his teammate, Garrett Lowe. Now in their second year sharing feedback with each other, the duo has pushed the #99 squad forward after finishing a stellar third place in the Endurance Teams Championship standings last year.
“Garrett and I actually click very, very well, but that already worked and clicked very well last year,” Schaak said. “We don’t always have the exact same style on all tracks, but when it comes to the setup, when we get out of the car, we both always give the same feedback. And that shows that we also have, I believe, a shared good feeling there and both want to go in the same direction.”
Beyond the data sheets, Schaak has watched his teammate evolve from a quiet technician into a vital piece of the team’s emotional puzzle. “Garrett is the same type of guy as I am,” Schaak said about his American teammate. “He is a bit funny; of course, this year he is coming out of his shell a bit more personally. You can already tell that he is actually a funny guy and not just the nerd where everything revolves between 0 and 1, but rather that he has thawed out now and just needed a bit more time. And yeah, I really love the time with him, it’s a lot of fun and that naturally carries over to the team inside the car.”
As the paddock shifts toward the grueling second half of the calendar, where the last round of the regular season and the double points playoffs will take place, Schaak’s internal compass is pointing firmly toward silverware. “My goals this year are clearly to win the Master Trophy and if, in the end, I have a place in the top-10 again in the overall standings, then I think, yeah, it’s good, then it’s solid,” he said.
To get there, he believes only minor internal tweaks are required. “To improve, what do I want to improve?” the German ponders. “I think the team is, again, it’s not new, there are just one or two new people who have joined in good and important positions. And I think for us it’s simply a matter of communication. But despite all that, there is actually very little to improve. I think it will be a rather small adjustment.”
Yet, even as he focuses on the immediate championship battle, Schaak revealed that conversations behind closed doors have turned toward a massive career milestone: taking on the birthplace of stock car racing.
“Dreams that I have – quite a few things have come up out of conversations,” Schaak shared. “I really have the wish to make the leap and target a few races in America. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the whole season, but we’ve already talked about it a bit internally now and we have the focus to maybe also do an overseas race, and maybe it won’t stop at one, maybe it will be two or three.”
According to Schaak, this isn’t just a driver’s solo fantasy; it’s a shared vision at the very top of the BS+BREMOTION masthead. “I think we are on the same page there with Patrick [Brenndorfer], with the team boss. I think he has the same wish and let’s see when we’ll sit in the cockpit over there. But the talks and thoughts are moving in this direction, so we’ll see.”
Now in his third full NASCAR Euro Series season, with a milestone 37th career start fast approaching by the season finale in Belgium, Schaak’s passion for the unique European V8 series remains deeply uncompromised. For him, the old-school charm and the trajectory of the series are exactly what the modern motorsport landscape desperately needs.
“I just love this series. The whole environment, it’s a lot of fun,” Schaak said, his eyes lighting up. “I also like the fan-friendliness, the proximity, I like that the drivers are real characters. That’s what defines NASCAR in Europe and that’s what makes my motorsport heart beat faster. And I can reveal this much: I have always toyed with the thought, but somehow I think you will see me in the car next year too. It’s not all fixed yet, but I think we are working in the right direction and that is, I think, what matters.”
Ultimately, Schaak credits his longevity and performance to the rare professional and personal sanctuary he has found under the guidance of his team principal.
“I am very grateful to the team. Patrick, I think I couldn’t have a better team. A real friendship has also grown out of it,” Schaak concluded. “You just have to highlight Patrick. I’ve had many team bosses in my career, and for me, Patrick is one of the best because he is simply an all-rounder and can put himself in people’s shoes, and he can bring people together well. I think, he’s born for this job as a team boss.”
With the technical hurdles hopefully behind them, a locked-in teammate beside him, and a dedicated team boss at the helm, Schaak’s gaze is fixed forward. “The tendency is pointing upwards,” he warned his rivals. “And I think that now, in the second half of the season, yeah, we will have our strongest phase and will be right up there at the front.”
Featured image by NASCAR Euro Series / Bart Dehaese
