Before Christmas, Speedhouse Racing confirmed 17-year-old Jose Antonio Penalta Yague – The Spaniard will compete in the 2025 Rookie Challenge season
Speedhouse Racing has been hard at work putting together a strong program for the 2025 NASCAR Euro Series season. The latest driver to be confirmed is Jose Antonio Penalta Yague, who will compete in the Rookie Challenge. The 17-year-old graduated from the Speedhouse Winter Camp Driver Recruitment Tests in November 2024 and will take his step into the world of EuroNASCAR. The Spaniard will be coached by Speedhouse Racing team owner Lucas Lasserre, who has brought many young talents to NASCAR in Europe.
"I am very happy to confirm Jose Antonio Penalta Yague," said Lasserre. "He is a 17-year-old from Valencia, Spain, and he will be competing in the 2025 Rookie Challenge season. Jose Antonio took part in our Winter Camp Driver Recruitment Test last November and was successful. He's a pure young Spanish talent with amazing experience and great results in karting. He has won several races and scored many podium finishes. He has also won three championships in a row! Jose Antonio tested the car at the Circuits de Vendee at Fontenay Le Comte in France and I was impressed by his skills."
Penalta Yague will be part of the Speedhouse Academy Driver Program and will prepare for the OPEN and PRO championships when he's ready to compete in the NASCAR Euro Series. For 2025, the Spaniard is focused on the regularity-based division, which has been revamped for the upcoming year. While the Rookie Challenge will feature a time-attack oriented format, the Club classification will once again be based on reference times set by race control.
Speedhouse driver Dani Briz introduced Penalta to Lasserre. Penalta said: "I am very happy to join Speedhouse and Luca Lasserre in the 2025 NASCAR Euro Series. It's the next step in building my professional racing career. I started in motorsports quite late compared to my competitors. I was 13 years old, but with the right support I was able to win races very soon. This will be my first NASCAR season and it's the right decision because NASCAR is one of the most important brands in motorsports. I also enjoyed testing with Speedhouse and loved the atmosphere in the team."