American Julia Landauer is back to a full-season racing program and joins top team PK Carsport, as the likely frontrunner targets to be the first EuroNASCAR female champion.
Julia Landauer announced on Monday that she will join NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, in a return to a full-time racing schedule together with PK Carsport team in the EuroNASCAR 2 championship.
The American from New York City had previously tested the car in France, during the December Drivers Recruitment Program session.
“My goal for 2020 was to find a series that I could race full time in. A few people told me about the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series and how competitive and fun the series is, so I did research and thought it would be an awesome series to race in." - announced Landauer.
“I wanted to race full time for a competitive team and PK Carsport is just that. I was introduced to Anthony Kumpen a few months ago and we had good discussions, so I'm really looking forward to working with him and the team, learning more about the cars, and fighting for wins every race.”
The Belgian team is one of the Euro NASCAR series powerhouses: with driver-owner Anthony Kumpen the squad won two EuroNASCAR PRO titles and two additional EuroNASCAR 2 titles with Maxime Dumarey and Stienes Longin. The team claimed a total of 29 race wins across the two NWES championships.
“At PK Carsport are all enthusiastic to have Julia in our team for 2020." - said Kumpen. "She’s a very talented driver, she proved she can deliver very good results and that’s exactly what we want at PK Carsport: to race at the front with both our cars in both NWES championships.”.
28-year old Landauer is a highly respected racer with an impressive stock-car resumé: she was the Skip Barber Racing Series first female champion at 14,, before becoming a leading contender in the 2016 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. A NASCAR Next graduate, Landauer comes from two partial campaigns in the Canadian-based NASCAR Pinty's Series, where last year she managed to claim several top-15 and a top-10 finish at Mosport.
“Expectations will be high for her and we’ll do our best to help her become the first woman to win a NWES championship." - continued Kumpen.
Competing for the first time in Europe, Landauer will indeed be regarded as one of the championship contenders, as she aims to become the first woman to win a title in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series.
“I'm really excited to race on road courses all over Europe and I liked how the car handled in the Recruitment Day." - she said. "My goal is to run up front, win races, and contend for the championship. And to have a lot of fun.“
The 12th edition of the EuroNASCAR championship will kick off on 25th April in Valencia, Spain, and will feature a 7 rounds schedule including some iconic motorsport venues such as Brands Hatch, Zolder and Hockenheim. The series will also travel for the first time to Vallelunga, outskirts of Rome.
"There are so many great tracks! I'm particularly excited for Valencia and the oval in The Netherlands."
The car Landauer will driver for PK Carsport will be announced at a later date.
Cover ph credits: Getty images for Nascar