The 2026 NASCAR Euro Series commences on April 17 and features racers from all over the world. This year, a UTD student will be among them.
Vinnie Meskelis is a Mechanical Engineering student at UTD who will be racing in the V8GP series for Team Bleekemolen in this year’s NASCAR Euro Series, the premiere stock car racing series in Europe.
The V8GP series in particular will consist of races all across Europe, beginning at the Circuit Ricardo Torno in Cheste, Spain, and continuing with races in France, the UK, Czech Republic, and Italy before the finals at Circuit Zolder in Belgium.
Not only is Meskelis one of the youngest drivers competing in this year’s competition, he also got a relatively late start, only beginning to really get into racing during COVID lockdowns. However, this unique turn of events ended up having a surprising benefit.
“Since I started racing when COVID hit, I did all of high school online…So, I already, coming into college…had the experience of, you know, having to be very disciplined and… getting stuff done beforehand so that I could focus on racing whenever I was at the racetrack,” Meskelis said.
Given that his start in racing was so special, Meskelis’ entry into the Euro Series was equally unusual. After his mom saw an Instagram post advertising a young driver recruitment test for the Euro Series just a few days before the deadline, they rushed to submit his application.
“I was accepted to go, and I think two or three days later, we were on a plane to France…And we left France with pretty much a handshake deal for me to race in the V8GP series this year,” Meskelis said.
Getting accepted into the Euro Series like this is no mean feat. There are only 26 seats available per championship, and they get more and more competitive each year, according to Sebastiaan Bleekemolen, the owner of the Dutch Team Bleekemolen, who Vinnie is racing for in the Euro Series.
And it’s not just the seats getting more competitive.
“I think motorsports is getting…more professional every year,” Bleekemolen said. “So, you know, if you are half a second or a second slower, then you’re maybe [15th] nowadays. And I think 10 years ago, maybe top five.”
To keep up with this difficulty, Meskelis has done plenty of training, but not all of it has been on the road. According to Meskelis, practicing in a simulator allows him to both hone the mental endurance necessary to consistently perform in long races, as well as learn tracks before he ever actually drives them in person — key to performing as well as possible on the day of the race.
But that doesn’t mean simulator work compares to real driving.
“Like, the thing that’s appealing to me the most is just getting in any car whatsoever and being to drive it as fast as possible and driving on the edge of, on the edge of the limit of everything,” Meskelis said.
So despite the difficulty, Meskelis isn’t scared.
“I’m super confident. It’s been a very long off-season for the NASCAR Euro Series, but it’s good that it’s given me a lot of time to prep and do a bunch of simulator work as well,” he said. “So, definitely going there with a lot of confidence, and I’m hopeful we can get, we can fight for a podium or maybe even a win,” Meskelis said.
Confident as Meskelis may be, the future is a little more uncertain.
“Racing, along with any professional sport, right, the odds that you get to do it professionally and to do it for a living are obviously very small,” he said.
But there’s still a bright side. “Obviously, if I don’t end up being able to do this for a living, then I still want to stay in the sport and be involved and work for a race team in some capacity.”
Vinnie Meskelis’ car during a race at Sebring International Raceway in Florida earlier this year.
UTD student Vinnie Meskelis got second place in February at Sebring International Raceway.
Vinnie Meskelis is a Mechanical Engineering student at UTD.
AJ Lenzer
Matty Media
Nitashia Johnson
UTD student Vinnie Meskelis competes in the NASCAR Euro Series
Feature-Newton Witter
The 2026 NASCAR Euro Series commences on April 17 and features racers from all over the world. This year, a UTD student will be among them.
Vinnie Meskelis is a Mechanical Engineering student at UTD who will be racing in the V8GP series for Team Bleekemolen in this year’s NASCAR Euro Series, the premiere stock car racing series in Europe.
The V8GP series in particular will consist of races all across Europe, beginning at the Circuit Ricardo Torno in Cheste, Spain, and continuing with races in France, the UK, Czech Republic, and Italy before the finals at Circuit Zolder in Belgium.
Not only is Meskelis one of the youngest drivers competing in this year’s competition, he also got a relatively late start, only beginning to really get into racing during COVID lockdowns. However, this unique turn of events ended up having a surprising benefit.
“Since I started racing when COVID hit, I did all of high school online…So, I already, coming into college…had the experience of, you know, having to be very disciplined and… getting stuff done beforehand so that I could focus on racing whenever I was at the racetrack,” Meskelis said.
Given that his start in racing was so special, Meskelis’ entry into the Euro Series was equally unusual. After his mom saw an Instagram post advertising a young driver recruitment test for the Euro Series just a few days before the deadline, they rushed to submit his application.
“I was accepted to go, and I think two or three days later, we were on a plane to France…And we left France with pretty much a handshake deal for me to race in the V8GP series this year,” Meskelis said.
Getting accepted into the Euro Series like this is no mean feat. There are only 26 seats available per championship, and they get more and more competitive each year, according to Sebastiaan Bleekemolen, the owner of the Dutch Team Bleekemolen, who Vinnie is racing for in the Euro Series.
And it’s not just the seats getting more competitive.
“I think motorsports is getting…more professional every year,” Bleekemolen said. “So, you know, if you are half a second or a second slower, then you’re maybe [15th] nowadays. And I think 10 years ago, maybe top five.”
To keep up with this difficulty, Meskelis has done plenty of training, but not all of it has been on the road. According to Meskelis, practicing in a simulator allows him to both hone the mental endurance necessary to consistently perform in long races, as well as learn tracks before he ever actually drives them in person — key to performing as well as possible on the day of the race.
But that doesn’t mean simulator work compares to real driving.
“Like, the thing that’s appealing to me the most is just getting in any car whatsoever and being to drive it as fast as possible and driving on the edge of, on the edge of the limit of everything,” Meskelis said.
So despite the difficulty, Meskelis isn’t scared.
“I’m super confident. It’s been a very long off-season for the NASCAR Euro Series, but it’s good that it’s given me a lot of time to prep and do a bunch of simulator work as well,” he said. “So, definitely going there with a lot of confidence, and I’m hopeful we can get, we can fight for a podium or maybe even a win,” Meskelis said.
Confident as Meskelis may be, the future is a little more uncertain.
“Racing, along with any professional sport, right, the odds that you get to do it professionally and to do it for a living are obviously very small,” he said.
But there’s still a bright side. “Obviously, if I don’t end up being able to do this for a living, then I still want to stay in the sport and be involved and work for a race team in some capacity.”
Vinnie Meskelis’ car during a race at Sebring International Raceway in Florida earlier this year.
UTD student Vinnie Meskelis got second place in February at Sebring International Raceway.
Vinnie Meskelis is a Mechanical Engineering student at UTD.
AJ Lenzer
Matty Media
Nitashia Johnson