Brenna Schubert scores Challenger Trophy podium on EuroNASCAR V8GP debut at Most
- RACERS
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
American racer Brenna Schubert made an impressive debut in the premier V8GP division of the NASCAR Euro Series at Most in the Czech Republic, recovering from a challenging start to Race 1 to claim a second-place finish in the Challenger Trophy and 13th overall.
American racer Brenna Schubert made an impressive debut in the premier V8GP division of the NASCAR Euro Series at Most in the Czech Republic, recovering from a challenging start to Race 1 to claim a second-place finish in the Challenger Trophy and 13th overall, before a mechanical failure brought her second race to an early end. Despite the disappointment of Sunday’s retirement, Schubert’s debut marked a strong first step in the championship for the 26-year-old, who became the only woman competing in the EuroNASCAR top division.
Schubert had originally been scheduled to make her V8GP debut at Paul Ricard, but mechanical issues prevented her from taking the start. She instead had to wait until the championship’s fourth round at Most to finally make her first EuroNASCAR race appearance in the premier division, driving the #20 Lux Motorsport car.
The move into V8GP represents another step in Schubert’s progression within motorsport. The American previously participated in the 2025 NASCAR Euro Series Rookie Challenge, while continuing to build her experience across different forms of racing, including endurance competitions with the all-female AE Victory Racing team in the World Racing League.
Schubert has also collected valuable experience through several competitive driver-selection programmes, winning the 2023 PT Autosport Aspiring Driver Shootout before adding another victory in the 2026 AE Victory Racing Female Driver Shootout.
The weekend immediately offered encouraging signs, as Schubert showed steady progress throughout the practice sessions while learning both the Lux Motorsport V8 and the demanding Most circuit. She set a 1:43.934 in the opening practice session to place 21st, before improving to a 1:43.888 in FP2, providing a promising foundation ahead of her first competitive race in the category.
That progression continued in qualifying. Schubert initially circulated in the 1:43s before making a significant improvement with a 1:42.411, her best lap of the weekend, to secure 20th position on the grid. Given that it was her first EuroNASCAR V8GP race weekend, the lap represented a very respectable qualifying effort and put her within reach of the midfield for the opening race.
Race 1 immediately saw chaos at the start, with a large part of the field running into trouble at the opening sequence and several cars ending up in the runoff areas or gravel. Schubert avoided the incidents and emerged from the opening lap in 18th position, putting her in a strong position to build her race from there.
She initially found herself battling with Bleekemolen and settled into 19th, maintaining a consistent pace in the 1:45s before moving back into 18th when Kajaia was forced to pit with damage. Schubert then began to find more performance as the race progressed, setting a 1:44 lap before breaking into the 1:43s and continuing to lower her times.
Her progress was rewarded on lap seven when she moved up to 17th position, getting ahead of Lucas Lasserre. She continued to run cleanly while gradually improving her pace, demonstrating increasing confidence.
A Virtual Safety Car period was subsequently triggered when the #54 of Cartechini went into the gravel and required recovery. When racing resumed with eight laps remaining, however, the American immediately returned to her previous rhythm and produced a 1:43.2 lap as the field went back to green.
Schubert was subsequently promoted to 16th and then 15th when Jouffreau was forced to pit with problems. With a comfortable margin over the car behind, she could concentrate on maintaining a clean run while matching the pace of Bleekemolen ahead.
The final stages provided another opportunity: Schubert closed the gap to Bleekemolen on the final lap and completed a pass to take 14th position at the chequered flag, completing a disciplined and steadily improving debut. She was subsequently promoted to 13th overall in the final classification and, even more significantly, finished second in the Challenger Trophy.
The result gave Schubert a podium on her first EuroNASCAR V8GP start and provided a strong reward for a weekend in which she had progressively improved her pace and adapted to the car and championship environment.
“I knew it would be a challenge jumping straight into the V8GP division for my first EuroNASCAR series race, but I’m happy to have walked away with a 2nd place podium finish in the Challenger Trophy and 13th overall in race 1,” Schubert said.
The race was not entirely without frustration, however, as Schubert explained that the Virtual Safety Car situation affected her ability to remain with the main field after she was stuck behind a slower car.
“A bit of bad luck in the race getting caught behind a lapped car that wouldn’t close the gap during the virtual safety car, which meant I couldn’t catch the field on the restart,” she explained. “This halted some of our progress and potential for a better result.”
After such a promising opening race, Schubert returned to Most ready for her second V8GP contest, lining up from 19th position on the tenth row of the grid.
The second race, however, lasted only one lap for the American. Schubert experienced an issue almost immediately after the start, with the car slowing and dropping positions as the problem became apparent. She was forced to bring the #20 car into the pits at the end of the opening lap, and the mechanical failure ultimately forced her to retire from the race.
The early retirement prevented Schubert from building on her Challenger Trophy podium and gaining further V8GP experience, but it did little to diminish the significance of her opening-race performance.
“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to improve on the result in race 2 with a mechanical failure taking us out of the race on the first lap,” Schubert said.
“Hoping to be able to secure some more sponsorship to compete in Italy next month and continue the momentum!” she added.
The NASCAR Euro Series will in fact return to action at Vallelunga, just outside Rome, on September 19-20. Schubert will be hoping to return to the series and build on the momentum of her Most debut.
