The title chase is on with the Playoffs Semi-Final at Autodromo di Vallelunga – Four double points races at the NASCAR GP Italy will bring out the best of the teams and drivers in V8GP and OPEN

• The NASCAR GP Italy is the start of the 2026 NASCAR Euro Series Playoffs
• Autodromo di Vallelunga will host four exciting races that award double points
• Vittorio Ghirelli and Thomas Toffel enter the Semi-Finals as the championship leader

It’s time to chase for the championship as the 2026 NASCAR Euro Series Playoffs kicks off with an exciting return to the Autodromo di Vallelunga! The 4.085 kilometer circuit located close to Rome will host the NASCAR GP Italy for the seventh time in its history and the stakes are high. Every position is going to matter: Not only will there be double points on offer in the four races scheduled across both V8GP and OPEN, drivers also cannot drop any more results during the Playoffs. The battles will be fierce and with a tight battle at the top of the standings, every advantage earned is going to be important.

Autodromo di Vallelunga is renowned for the challenges that it presents to the drivers. A series of high-speed sweepers and technical corners will push the pure racing machine to its limits. It demands maximum concentration and with the Playoffs Semi-Final on the line, the bar for success is going to be raised even higher. The support from more than 20,000 Italian tifosi that are expected to attend this festival will create an unforgettable atmosphere for racing enthusiasts from all across Europe, setting the stage for the ultimate showdown in the best touring car racing on the continent.

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V8GP: Vittorio Ghirelli on Home Soil

There will be one driver that the tifosi will keep an eye out during the NASCAR GP Italy: Their standout countryman Vittorio Ghirelli. The Fasano native arrives at his home race with a goal to prove, having survived a tough regular season finale at the Czech Republic to maintain his overall lead in European NASCAR’s elite division. With two V8GP championship crowns and the most wins out of any V8GP driver in Vallelunga with four, the PK Carsport driver is aware of what needs to be done. The more wins he secured, the higher his chances to secure the elusive third consecutive title that he’s been looking for since the first green flag of the season.

In spite of his advantage, Ghirelli remained cautious as his rivals gained significant momentum at Autodrom Most. Jordan O’Brien continues to lead the charge for the chasers after he slashed his deficit to the Italian with his maiden victory in Czechia. O’Brien and his team Hendriks Motorsport always maximized the opportunities on offer and so does his teammate Martin Doubek, who is joint third in the standings with “Hybrid Racer” Garrett Lowe. Doubek quietly joined the title race with consistent results, but the Czech driver is still waiting for his first win in the V8GP division. Could the 2026 Playoffs be the moment where Doubek achieved his long-awaited V8GP triumph?

Lowe will not only have to worry about the overall championship, he also has to look out for the hungry pack of drivers that want to snatch the Junior Trophy lead away from the BS+BREMOTION driver. Only 24 points separated Junior Trophy contenders Lowe, Paul Jouffreau, Thomas Krasonis, Jack Davidson and Vinnie Meskelis in the standings and with more points to be earned – and lost – in the Playoffs, any one of them can enter the Finals in Belgium as the leader in the classification for drivers aged 25 and under.

Nelson Piquet Jr. and Challenger Trophy leader Logan Bearden round out the top-10, but Bearden will not be present due to commitments in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. His absence opens the door for Davit Kajaia, Giovanni Cartechini, Thomas Toffel and Brad Ranson to fight for the top position amongst the elite amateurs. Don’t count out Gianmarco Ercoli either, as the 2023 V8GP champion and Roman native wants to win in front of his beloved fans.

OPEN: Where Will the Pendulum Swing?

The story of the OPEN regular season has been dominated by two drivers: Thomas Toffel and Raphael Lessard. Toffel established an early lead with his maiden wins at Valencia and kept his advantage all the way to the start of the Playoffs, but Lessard grabbed the attention towards the end of the regular season with his wins at Paul Ricard and Most. With three wins scored for each driver, the momentum has seemingly swung in their favor. However, wins doesn’t always win championships: You need to have consistency as well and that’s what Thomas Dombrowski and Gil Linster had as their ace cards. The Frenchman and the Luxembourger split Toffel and Lessard apart in the standings and will be looking to see if they can swing the momentum in their favor instead.

Vladimiros Tziortzis keeps an eye on the outside in fifth place following his resurgence in the 2026 season. Trailing the Cypriot behind is the inseparable Legend Trophy duo of Claudio Cappelli and Melvin de Groot. Cappelli has been dominant in the classification for drivers aged 45 and above with a tally of six class wins, but de Groot kept the Italian at his bay with two class wins of his own and a remarkable consistency. Home advantage will boost Cappelli’s chances to win the overall Legend Trophy battle, but de Groot will give everything that he can to retain the crown that he won in 2025.

Maxim van Laere, Martin Doubek and Sandro Tavartkiladze round the top-10 positions. Doubek, a two-time OPEN champion, split the two Master Trophy leaders van Laere and Tavartkiladze, who themselves are only nine points away from each other. Practically nothing separated the Belgian and the Georgian, giving them a big incentive to push for the win in Italy. Beitske Visser enters the NASCAR GP Italy with a renewed motivation for the Lady Trophy: A move to Team Bleekemolen gives the Dutch racer a chance to fight it out against Happinessa and Mariam Davitidze during the Playoffs.

Endurance Teams Championship: PK Carsport at the Top

The Endurance Teams Championship battle will be put to the test in the Playoffs. Every seconds and tenths collected will matter, as the format awards the win to the entry that completes the most laps in the shortest overall time. The championship is currently led by the #24 PK Carsport crew, whose star drivers Ghirelli and Dombrowski worked together to score two event wins over the course of the 2026 campaign.

The Belgian team maintained a 13 point lead over the #50 Hendriks Motorsport entry that sits second. The #99 BS+BREMOTION entry is third following their podium in the Czech Republic that promoted the German team up the order. The #30 Rette Jones Racing by Hendriks and #54 CAAL Racing squads are only 22 and 23 points behind in fourth and fifth positions. With double points also awarded for Endurance Teams in Italy, teams will have to keep their wits together as they cannot afford to lose vital points during this important stretch of races.

Rookie Challenge: Leaders are Neck-to-Neck

The regularity-based time-attack challenge returns to action at Vallelunga with Yann Cristovao and Sandro Kajaia tied at the top of the standings. Both drivers have shown remarkable consistency and with the looming threat of Jacob Parry, who grabbed two event wins in Spain and Czech Republic, the two sessions at Italy are going to be a thriller to follow. Germany’s Henrik Peters and Austria’s Andreas Kuchelbacher complete the top-5 positions and are not out of the count in the battle for the top prize of Europe’s premier NASCAR development platform.

V8GP

• Gil Linster does double duty – Gil Linster steps up his game in Italy with his maiden V8GP appearance as Logan Bearden’s substitute at Rette Jones Racing by Hendriks
• Nicolas Maunoir debuts – Swiss ace Nicolas Maunoir joins Team Bleekemolen and is set to receive his first taste at the V8 powered machines
• Sven van Laere returns – Sven van Laere is reunited with CAAL Racing to rekindle his passion at pure racing during the NASCAR GP Italy

OPEN

• Marc-Antoine D’Amour in a new entry – The Canadian joins Michael Bleekemolen for his OPEN debut in Team Bleekemolen’s new #75 entry
• Mariam Davitidze and Valentino Gambarotto’s comeback – Davitidze and Gambarotto are both declared fit to compete in Italy, giving them a chance to impress in the Playoffs
• Kenko Miura fights on – Long-time veteran Kenko Miura is ready to put on a show after his oval debut in the United States

Featured image by NASCAR Euro Series / Bart Dehaese