NASCAR's first venture into ice racing put on hold

The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series announced in October that it would unofficially kick off its 2023 season on 4-5 March in Rovaniemi, Finland, with an all-star race where for the first time in history NASCAR cars would race on ice.

The series, however, announced Tuesday it has indefinitely postponed the new NASCAR Arctic Ice Race.

According to series president and CEO Jerome Galpin, supplying the cars with the equipment needed to adapt to the ice conditions proved not to be possible in current conditions.

“It is really unfortunate and we feel sorry for all the NASCAR fans eagerly waiting for this event to take place,” Galpin said.

“With the current situation, it is difficult to get every component we need to prepare the cars for this kind of event.

“As we do for all the events of the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, we want to deliver with the Ice Race the best possible experience for everyone at the track and at home, so we prefer to take the time to have optimal conditions.

“This event should be the highlight of a new concept and we want it to be perfect.”

Galpin said he remains committed to staging the event “in the near future”.

The 2023 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season will kick off on 6-7 May at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain. All races will be broadcast on the EuroNASCAR YouTube channel.

The 2023 season is a special one for NASCAR and especially for NASCAR’s presence in Europe.

As part of its 75th anniversary celebration, a NASCAR Cup Series Next Gen car will take part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time in 47 years with the Garage 56 programme.