NEWs 2018
THE SUCCESS STORY CONTINUES: KUNZ BEFORE DEBUT IN NORTH AMERICA
2018/08/19
funds from the environment of Kunz, but also by team owner Cobb herself. Kunz explains: “It’s just unbelievable. I will give everything to go as far as possible. Jennifer believes in me and wants to fulfill this dream. I thank her and all my supporters who help me on this great journey”.
Cobb, who will also compete in the race, jokes in the lead-up: “My biggest challenge will be to explain to Justin how expensive our bodies are, even if they are minimally damaged.” The 45-year-old American from Kansas City has competed in 164 truck races over the past 17 years. Kunz “has everything on and off the track” to succeed in Mosport. “If I did not believe in him, I would not have invited him to this race.”
Kunz will travel to the USA for a seat rehearsal a week before the race. He looks forward to the days he will spend with Cobb and their truck team before the race. “I will start without pressure and try to make the most of this opportunity. It is also important for me to make contacts there in order to build something bigger. “
The German is walking on the paths of his Euro-NASCAR colleagues, who have also made it from Europe to the United States. While Alon Day has made guest appearances in both the NASCAR Cup and the Tuck and Xfinity series, Anthony Kumpen and Anthony Gandon have participated in Xfinity series races. Kunz is the fourth NASCAR Euro Series driver to start one of the three major NASCAR leagues. Kunz is currently racing for the NASCAR Euro Series for Racing Total, where he will participate in both the ELITE 1 and ELITE 2 championships. Currently he is 15th in the NASCAR Euro ELITE 1 division and 11th in the ELITE 2 division.
Justin Kunz with Jennifer Jo Cobb (Photo©NASCAR Whelen Euro Series/Stephane Azemard)
After the fabulous result at Tours Speedway, where Kunz scored his very first top 3 result, he will write NASCAR history: Justin Kunz will be in Carlington, Canada on the 26th of August to compete in the American truck series (Chevrolet Silverado 250, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park). The 21-year-old is after Alexander Müller the second German, who will contest a race in the 3rd NASCAR League.
“A dream come true. An indescribable feeling that it is really happening now. I’ve had a long-lasting grin on my face for days” says the newcomer. He will be at the wheel of the second Chevrolet Silverado (# 0) of Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing.
The start was made possible not only by donations and sponsorship
FIRST PODIUM PLACE FOR JUSTIN KUNZ
2018/07/03
Photo @Regina Riedel
The past race weekend in Tours (France) was a very special one for Justin Kunz. Thanks to the good work of everyone in the team, he had a top car during the Oval World Challenge, with which he finished 3rd in the Elite 2 qualifying. A very good sign! Even though it was a very exhausting weekend that demanded everything of him (35 degrees outside
temperature and 70 degrees inside the car) there was reason to celebrate on Saturday night: In the Saturday race of the elite 2 Kunz went to namely on the podium for the first time in NASCAR! So often, the youngster was already close to it and was kept away by unfortunate conditions. But this time he was finally rewarded for all the hardships: he landed on the second place! So, he is the first German on the podium in the NASCAR. The knot has finally burst!
“I am very grateful to my team for this moment of happiness that I really needed. Everything is possible and sooner or later the first victory will be achieved, “said Kunz happily and hopefully after this great success.
Unfortunaly, in the Sunday race of the Elite 2 Kunz was again involved in a crash that caused his differential in smoke and he had no more propulsion. But the positive outweighs this magical weekend. Now he has an offer for a race of the 3rd Nascar League in the United States, which will take place on August 26, 2018 at the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. To accept this offer and to be able to start there, he needs 30 000 euros. Justin Kunz now hopes for the support and help of future sponsors.
TECHNICALLY CONDITIONED DEEP BLOWS – BUT JUSTIN KUNZ
CAN NOT BE DISCOURAGED
(Photo: Michael Großgarten)
2018/06/12
In the career of any aspiring racer, there are probably phases in which just nothing wants to run. In this situation also was Justin Kunz, if you considered the previous season. A season that does not seem to be under a good star so far.
Kunz and his team went to England last weekend for the big American Speedfest at the Brands Hatch Circuit. On Friday, right at the beginning of the training, a problem with the steering occurred. The team could fix this until the end of the 3rd training session, but this meant that Kunz could drive only a few laps in the fourth (and last) training session. So there was very little time left for him and the team to tune the car perfectly, also to set it up properly.Due to this not optimal set-up they could only qualify on Saturday morning for starting position 23 in Elite 1 and 11th in Elite 2. And it continued to grow through, this Saturday. In the first Elite 1 race, there was little time to overtake due to some safety car phases; the result was 16th place. In the following Elite 2 race, after a few laps, something broke on the shift linkage, which prevented the driver from switching to 3rd and 4th gear. This race was over.
Also on Sunday they were mercilessly caught up again by the lack of training time on Friday, which is the reason why Kunz only came in 16th place in the second Elite 1 race. And since he was unable to finish the first race the day before due to the broken gear lever, he had to start in the second Elite 2 race from far behind (from 26th place). Fortunately, there was a first, small ray of hope: despite the poor starting position Kunz managed to drive up to the end to 12th place.
Of course, his fighting spirit has not been lost through these unfortunate incidents. The support of his team, his fans and his friends encourages him to keep fighting and confidently looking towards the Oval World Challenge, which will take place on 30 June and 1 July 2018 in Tours.
THE FASTEST OF THE TRAINING ON A TERRIFIC CATCHING UP
2018/05/26
©NASCAR Whelen Euro Series/Stephane Azemard
Last weekend, Justin Kunz was busy at the Autodromo di Franciacorta in Italy: he was allowed to compete in both classes. This meant that he had to master two races in Elite 1 (pros) and two races in Elite 2 (offspring).
At first, this weekend could not have started better, because the fastest lap of practice went to Kunz. So, the plan for the further qualifying was fixed: namely to repeat what had been achieved the previous day. The priority was Elite 2; this meant that in Elite 1 qualifying, they wanted to “save” the good tires and therefore he only started from 19th place. Kunz was the first to get out of the pits in the only 8-minute Elite 2 qualifying. But back on start (or finish), still the last drivers drove from the pit lane (because of the delay), so Kunz had slower traffic in front of him and the good tires could not fully exploited. So he reached only 10th place.
The elite 1 Saturday race started with a contact in the starting phase, which reversed Justin’s Ford Mustang and damaged the front left tire. Fortunately, the tire still held until the end. At the end of the field, it continued for the youngster, who still landed at position 13. The elite 2
race on Saturday afternoon went off without major incidents, Kunz became 8th.
Sunday morning, Kunz started in the second race of the Elite 2. The start went smoothly so far, but the accident should only take its turn in turn three: To avoid a transverse vehicle, the entire field came together very closely; The pilot who drove behind Kunz gave a flat rear tire. So the # 46 had to pit for a wheel change and was at the end of the field. What came next was a race to catch up to position 7. The following Elite 1 race had Kunz on Sunday due to the limited number of tires and the two punctures with two older slicks contest. Since Kunz had to fight due to the older tires with less grip, he saw again the checkered flag as number 13.
“If you have a puncture you already have almost lost here. But the guys from my team did a great job. I just gave everything to make them a little bit happy. It was just a mega race! “commented Justin after the race on the events.
If you want to be there live, you should book the 14th – 16th September, because then the American Fan Fest will take place at the Hockenheimring.