Year after year, the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series attracts young and promising talent from around the world to compete in Europe’s best touring car championship. EuroNASCAR 2 is the home for youngsters and gentlemen drivers to climb the NWES career ladder towards EuroNASCAR PRO and NASCAR in the USA. The Rookie Trophy is designed to honor the best debutant in EuroNASCAR 2 and the 2023 season saw a real showdown between two outstanding contenders. In the end, Marko Stipp Motorsport’s Jack Davidson edged out Thomas Dombrowski for the win and took the German team’s first title in either of the two NWES championships.
Davidson saw Dombrowski fly away in the standings at the start of the season when the Frenchman scored five Rookie Trophy wins in six races. The Scot, driving the #48 Chevrolet Camaro, grabbed his first Rookie Trophy victory of the season at his home track, the Indy Circuit of Brands Hatch. With a seventh-place finish in the EuroNASCAR 2 race, the Stirling-born driver proved his progress in a 400-horsepower V8 race car with an H-pattern shifter and no electronic aids. By the end of the 2023 season, Davidson had amassed a total of five Rookie Trophy race wins, putting him atop the special classification’s standings.
1st: Jack Davidson (356 points)
Davidson joined EuroNASCAR through the series’ official Drivers Recruitment Program, which has proven to be the best way to enter Europe’s official NASCAR series. The Scot signed with one of the loyal NWES teams on the grid: Marko Stipp Motorsport. He jumped into the #48 Chevrolet Camaro and quickly adapted to the Pure Racing character of the NWES. His first Rookie Trophy came at his home track of Brands Hatch, a circuit he knows like the back of his hand. In the second half of the season, Davidson closed the gap and made it to the top of the standings to Dombrowski in an epic battle.
The Scot swept the Rookie Trophy at Autodrom Most and scored important points at his team’s home race at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben in Germany. However, he entered the double-point EuroNASCAR Finals with a five point deficit from Dombrowski. With a fantastic performance in the woods of Limburg, Davidson overtook the Frenchman with two phenomenal Rookie Trophy victories to win the special classification, finishing in seventh overall just 21 points ahead of Dombrowski. After winning the Club Challenge three times in a row, Marko Stipp Motorsport won its first ever title in one of the two NWES championships.
2nd: Thomas Dombrowski (-21)
After a strong start to the season, Dombrowski looked like the dominant force in the Rookie Trophy standings. The Frenchman scored a total of five wins in the special classification, but was unlucky in the second half of the season. Driving the #66 Chevrolet Camaro for Team Bleekemolen, Dombrowski was unable to defend his lead despite setting a strong pace. At the end of the season, he had to settle for second place in the points standings. Nevertheless, Dombrowski ended up in the EuroNASCAR 2 top-10 with a ninth-place finish, one point ahead of Legend Trophy runner-up Claudio Cappelli. Dombrowski’s best finish was a fifth place at the Autodromo di Vallelunga in Italy.
3rd: Thomas Toffel (-99)
Toffel made the switch from bike to car racing in the 2023 NWES season, and the Swiss used the first half of the season to tame the pure V8 beast and improve race by race. Without a specific goal in mind, the 32-year-old pulled double duty in both championships to increase his track time at the wheel of the #34 Race Art Technology Ford Mustang. Finishing 14th overall in EuroNASCAR 2, Toffel took home a solid third place in the Rookie Trophy standings. His season was highlighted by the Rookie Trophy sweep at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, where the Swiss also earned his first overall podium by finishing second in Sunday’s race.