NASCAR Euro series, General Tire tie up through 2024

PARIS — The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series has selected General Tire to be the series' race tire supplier and official tire partner of Euro NASCAR for the next six years.

All cars racing in the European NASCAR championship will be equipped with General Tire's NWES GT slick and wet tires, in size 11.5/27.5R15.

Financial terms were not disclosed. General Tire — a Continental A.G. brand — replaces Michelin Motorsports as the series' official tire supplier.

"NASCAR Whelen Euro Series and General Tire make ideal partners, not least because of the rich American heritage we share," according to Guy Frobisher, senior project manager at General Tires in Europe.

"It's a fantastic opportunity for us to showcase our brand in this thrilling and fast-growing motorsport setting. What's more, our engineers in the U.S. have developed a race tire that promises to meet the high expectations of the teams."

The NASCAR Euro series started life in 2008 as the Racecar Series and gained NASCAR affiliation in 2012, becoming the Euro-Racecar NASCAR Touring Series. It became the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series in 2013.

The series uses NASCAR-style racers — either a Chevrolet, Ford or Toyota body with a 5.7-liter, 400 hp V8 engine — competing on road-race circuits throughout Europe.

The six-year agreement with General Tire represents a step forward in Euro NASCAR's exponential growth, the series organizers said, noting that such a commitment reflects the "strong will both parts have to reach new heights and further develop the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series events, reaching new fans all over the world."

NASCAR Whelen Euro Series President and CEO Jerome Galpin called the deal a "huge demonstration of confidence in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series and its potential."

Mr. Galpin noted that the series will help Continental promote the General Tire brand across Europe.

The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series used BFGoodrich-brand race tires this past season, a change from the Michelin-branded tires it used for the previous nine seasons.

At the same time, the series released its 2019 schedule, showing 26 race spread over seven race weekends at tracks in seven countries, plus a non-championship mid-season all-star race at an as-yet undisclosed street circuit in France.

The season opens with a double-header race weekend April 13-14 in Valencia, Spain, and concludes Oct. 5-6 with another double-header weekend at Zolder, Belgium.

In between the series will visit the Autodromo di Franciacorta, Italy (May 11-12); Brands Hatch, England (June 1-2); Autodrom Most, Czech Republic (June 29-30); Raceway Venray, Netherlands (July 13-14); and Hockenheimring, Germany (Sept. 21-22).

Striking this deal with the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series will allow General Tire to leverage its experience supplying the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA), which races similar cars but predominantly on oval circuits.