Ryan Vargas is not much of a road course racer, but he was more than up for the challenge against the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series when he and 3F Racing made their series débuts in last weekend’s NASCAR GP Germany at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. Despite being his first time competing in Europe and doing so in the top-level EuroNASCAR PRO class, he scored tenth-place finishes in both races.
Vargas got to showcase his skill early when he cracked the top ten in qualifying to advance to the Superpole round, pacing in tenth.
Race #1 took place on his 23rd birthday, where he notched a tenth. While post-race penalties tossed up the results, most notably causing Vittorio Ghirelli to lose the win to Paul Jouffreau due to a non-spec air filter, Vargas mostly avoided scrutiny to keep his top ten.
“The Euro cars are a bit more rigid and built to handle road courses better,” he posted on social media. “A mix of a bias-ply tire and lower power means you can absolutely THRASH the car around and find different ways to find speed.
“Plus, they’re still big stock cars, so they’re WILD to drive.”
The second race saw Vargas start twelfth before spending the day fighting with 2018 EuroNASCAR 2 champion Ulysse Delsaux and Lucas Lasserre to get back into the top ten. Lasserre eventually dropped out with a tyre puncture, leaving Vargas to fend off Delsaux for tenth, an effort that ended successfully.
“I’m so impressed because when I raced the NASCAR Euro series, EuroPro was so so stacked. So a top 10 on your first outing is mega,” Myatt Snider wrote to Vargas. Snider is a fellow American who raced the EuroNASCAR 2 calendar in 2019 before returning stateside.
The double top ten marks a strong entrance for 3F Racing into NASCAR-sanctioned competition. The German-owned team plans to compete in the Cup Series in the future, and hired Vargas in July as their driver development director. 3F also has a late model programme, with whom EuroNASCAR 2 part-timer Max Mason tested at Hickory in August.
With Germany out of the way, Vargas will return to the United States to run the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday. He was the fifteenth American to race in the NWES, joining the likes of Snider, Andre Castro, Jennifer Jo Cobb, Rick Crawford, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Eric Filgueiras, Brandon Gdovic, Ben Kennedy, Bobby Labonte, Julia Landauer, Kevin O’Connell, Dale Quarterley, Nick Strickler, and Giles Thornton.
EuroNASCAR PRO Race #1 results
| Finish | Number | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
| 1 | 3 | Paul Jouffreau | RDV Competition | Ford |
| 2 | 99 | Tobias Dauenhauer | Bremotion | Chevrolet |
| 3 | 56 | Marc Goossens | CAAL Racing | Chevrolet |
| 4 | 72 | Vittorio Ghirelli | Team Bleekemolen | Chevrolet |
| 5 | 54 | Gianmarco Ercoli | CAAL Racing | Chevrolet |
| 6 | 24 | Anthony Kumpen | PK Carsport | Chevrolet |
| 7 | 50 | Liam Hezemans | Hendriks Motorsport | Toyota |
| 8 | 14 | Ulysse Delsaux | Speedhouse | Ford |
| 9 | 69 | Sebastiaan Bleekemolen | Team Bleekemolen | Ford |
| 10 | 30 | Ryan Vargas | 3F Racing | Chevrolet |
| 11 | 34 | Thomas Toffel | Race Art Technology | Chevrolet |
| 12 | 48 | Tuomas Pontinen | Marko Stipp Motorsport | Chevrolet |
| 13 | 66 | Thomas Dombrowski | Team Bleekemolen | Chevrolet |
| 14 | 46 | Thomas Krasonis | Marko Stipp Motorsport | Chevrolet |
| 15 | 65 | Riccardo Romagnoli | The Club Motorsport | Chevrolet |
| 16 | 88 | Max Lanza | CAAL Racing | Chevrolet |
| 17 | 64 | Lucas Lasserre | Speedhouse | Ford |
| 18 | 55 | Fabrizio Armetta | The Club Motorsport | Chevrolet |
| 19 | 18 | Giorgio Maggi | Race Art Technology | Ford |
| 20 | 7 | Martin Doubek | Hendriks Motorsport | Ford |
| 21 | 8 | Dario Caso | Vict Motorsport | Chevrolet |
| 22 | 5 | Vladimiros Tziortzis | Academy Motorsport | EuroNASCAR FJ |
Bold – Challenger Trophy
EuroNASCAR PRO Race #2 results
| Finish | Number | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
| 1 | 99 | Tobias Dauenhauer | Bremotion | Chevrolet |
| 2 | 3 | Paul Jouffreau | RDV Competition | Ford |
| 3 | 24 | Anthony Kumpen | PK Carsport | Chevrolet |
| 4 | 72 | Vittorio Ghirelli | Team Bleekemolen | Chevrolet |
| 5 | 54 | Gianmarco Ercoli | CAAL Racing | Chevrolet |
| 6 | 50 | Liam Hezemans | Hendriks Motorsport | Toyota |
| 7 | 56 | Marc Goossens | CAAL Racing | Chevrolet |
| 8 | 18 | Giorgio Maggi | Race Art Technology | Ford |
| 9 | 69 | Sebastiaan Bleekemolen | Team Bleekemolen | Ford |
| 10 | 30 | Ryan Vargas | 3F Racing | Chevrolet |
| 11 | 14 | Ulysse Delsaux | Speedhouse | Ford |
| 12 | 7 | Martin Doubek | Hendriks Motorsport | Ford |
| 13 | 46 | Thomas Krasonis | Marko Stipp Motorsport | Chevrolet |
| 14 | 66 | Thomas Dombrowski | Team Bleekemolen | Chevrolet |
| 15 | 34 | Thomas Toffel | Race Art Technology | Chevrolet |
| 16 | 48 | Tuomas Pontinen | Marko Stipp Motorsport | Chevrolet |
| 17 | 5 | Vladimiros Tziortzis | Academy Motorsport | EuroNASCAR FJ |
| 18 | 65 | Riccardo Romagnoli | The Club Motorsport | Chevrolet |
| 19 | 88 | Max Lanza | CAAL Racing | Chevrolet |
| 20 | 55 | Fabrizio Armetta | The Club Motorsport | Chevrolet |
| 21 | 8 | Dario Caso | Vict Motorsport | Chevrolet |
| 22 | 64 | Lucas Lasserre | Speedhouse | Ford |