With the NWES season set to kick-off on September 12-13 at Vallelunga, Italy, Marc Goossens and Dylan Derdaele announced today that they will join CAAL Racing to drive the #98 Ford Mustang. The two Belgians will enter the season with the chance to contend for the EuroNASCAR PRO and the EuroNASCAR 2 titles with one of the powerhouses of the European NASCAR championship.
One of the most eclectic drivers in Europe, Goossens is an Endurance Racing star and a proven frontrunner in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series. The Lommel-native, whose resume spans from single seaters to IMSA and even the NASCAR Cup Series, made his NWES debut in 2016 and despite always racing on a partial schedule, finished on the podium 13 times in 34 races. Goossens earned his first NASCAR win in 2017 at Zolder.
“It has been a long and eventful off-season for sure. While the initial plan was for me to share a car with Sven Van Laere and for Dylan to race on another car, the COVID situation made it impossible, so with Dylan we decided to join forces. When we ended up talking with CAAL Racing they approached this deal from a racing standpoint and we found ourselves very much in tune,” said “The Goose,” who works with Derdaele on a daily basis in the Belgium Racing team organization, for which he serves as Program Manager. “I raced against CAAL Racing many times and there’s no doubt they are ultra competitive, but they also provide a family atmosphere, which is the same thing we do at Belgium Racing and therefore I’m sure we’ll be in the best possible situation.”
For Derdaele, 2020 will mark the first full-time campaign in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series as well. The 28-year-old Neerpelt-native made his NWES debut in 2018 at his home track of Zolder, finishing one of the races in the top-10 in EuroNASCAR PRO. In 2019 he took part in a partial schedule of four races and grabbed another top-10 finish, again at Zolder.
Derdaele, who started racing go-karts relatively late at 14 years of age but proved to be immediately competitive and in GT Racing won four consecutive 24 Hours Of Zolder, will take on the EuroNASCAR 2 championship with clear title ambitions.
“With Marc we agreed that for my first complete season in NASCAR, it would be better to gain some more valuable experience and focus on the EuroNASCAR 2 championship.” said Derdaele. “It will definitely help me to have a deeper knowledge of the car and the series and become a winner in NWES. CAAL was very helpful in creating a situation in which we could share the car. It is going to offer us great opportunities to compete at the front while giving our partner the best value both on a national and international level. ”
“We are very happy to have with us a great professional like Marc and a driver with a lot of potential like Dylan,” said CAAL Racing’s team manager Luca Canneori. “This season is strange and difficult because of the pandemic, but in January and February we worked hard on the cars and we’ll keep doing that towards the start of the championship. We have a strong lineup and we want to fight for the win.”
The Italian team will undergo a full day of testing with all its driver on Monday, August 24 at Vallelunga in preparation of the September 12-13 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season opener.
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