Tatiana Calderón shows winning pace but misses out on podium in chaotic NASCAR Brasil weekend at Chapecó
Tatiana Calderón showed front-running pace throughout the penultimate round of the 2026 NASCAR Brasil season at Chapecó, securing her best qualifying result of the year and fighting for victory in all three races, but a series of incidents prevented her from converting her performance into the results she deserved.
Tatiana Calderón showed front-running pace throughout the penultimate round of the 2026 NASCAR Brasil season at Chapecó, securing her best qualifying result of the year and fighting for victory in all three races, but a series of incidents prevented her from converting her performance into the results she deserved.
The Colombian driver qualified fourth with SG28 by Pole Motorsport, recovered from 14th to sixth in Race 2 to secure pole position for the final race, and led the closing event for most of its duration before contact on a late restart caused a tyre failure and forced her to retire just minutes from the finish.
The weekend began on a positive note for Calderón, who secured fourth place in qualifying to record her best starting position of the season. The result reflected the progress made by the Colombian and the SG28 by Pole Motorsport team, giving her an encouraging opportunity to fight at the front on Chapecó's distinctive circuit.
Calderón carried that momentum into the opening race, making her way into the top three and challenging for second place in the closing stages. With less than a minute remaining, however, contact from a competitor compromised her race. The incident was subsequently reviewed by race officials, who issued an additional penalty to the driver involved, but Calderón was unable to recover the lost ground and crossed the finish line in 14th.
Starting Race 2 from the same position, the Colombian produced a determined recovery drive through the field. She steadily gained places to reach sixth at the chequered flag, a particularly important result given the championship's reverse-grid format, which uses the top six finishers to determine the starting order for the third race. By securing sixth, Calderón earned pole position for the final event of the weekend.
She made the most of the opportunity, taking the lead from the front row and controlling the race for almost its entire duration. Calderón appeared on course for a victory, but the closing stages brought another setback. Following a restart with just three minutes remaining, she was hit twice by competitors, with the contact causing one of her tyres to blow out. Unable to continue, the Colombian was forced to retire just moments before what could have been a memorable win.
Despite missing out on the results her pace suggested were possible, Calderón leaves Chapecó having demonstrated again her ability to compete at the front throughout the weekend.
Reflecting on the event, Calderón first highlighted the special atmosphere of racing in Chapecó, the hometown of her teammate Bruna Tomaselli, before expressing her disappointment at the missed opportunities across the three races.
“I want to start by thanking Chapecoense and the entire city for the wonderful welcome they gave us. Chapecó is Bruna’s hometown, my teammate, so racing here was very special for the whole team,” she said.
“We started the weekend in the best possible way, with our best qualifying result of the year: fourth. In the first race, we had very strong pace and were fighting for the win, but unfortunately, a driver who already had a penalty made contact with us. Although we managed to finish the race, we ended up 14th. In the second race, we started from that same position and fought our way up to sixth, which gave us pole position for the final race.
“I gave it everything to take the victory, but during the final restart, with three minutes remaining, I was hit twice, the tyre blew out and I couldn’t continue.”
While the outcome was frustrating, Calderón remained encouraged by the speed shown throughout the weekend and the work carried out with the team, particularly given the potential for a much stronger points return.
“What could have been three podium finishes ended up yielding very few points, and I believe we deserved more. Nevertheless, I’m happy with the pace we showed and all the work done by the SG28 by Pole Motorsport team. We have one more race left, in Brasília, where we want to enjoy the moment and show our full potential. Let’s keep pushing!”
Calderón currently sits 12th in the overall NASCAR Brasil standings and fourth in the Challenge class ahead of the season finale, which will take place in Brasília on the final weekend of November.
