NASCAR Brasil Sprint Race introduces success ballast

The NASCAR Brasil Sprint Race will introduce a success ballast for the top three drivers in each of the three championships starting with the second round at Autódromo de Interlagos on 30 April.

The series is split into PRO, PROAM, and AM divisions, meaning nine drivers total will have their cars weighed down at each round. The points leader in each class will receive a thirty-kilogram ballast, while second gets twenty-five and third receives twenty.

Success ballasts are predominantly featured in sports and touring car racing to handicap the leaders to create a more level playing field. Super GT is perhaps the most notable user, though the FIA World Endurance Championship and British Touring Car Championship have also empoloyed it.

“The ballast will be a big novelty and we can’t say how much damage it will do, but I believe we can do a good job,” said Rômulo Molinari, who along with car-mate Brendon Zonta leads the AM points. “It can be overcome with a lot of dedication in training and wisdom at the time of the races.”

The following drivers will receive ballasts for Interlagos: Diogo Moscato (first), Vitor Genz and Rapha Teixeira (second), and Arthur Gama (third) in PRO; Léo Reis and Rafa Reis, Luan Lopes, and Lourenço Beirão and Giovani Girotto in PROAM; and Molinari and Zonta, Fernando Nakamura, and Léo Yoshii in AM.

Currently in its inaugural season, the Brasil Sprint Race is the first NASCAR-sanctioned championship in South America. The year began at Autódromo Internacional Ayrton Senna in March and will be eight races total.