Pastor 2nd in Nascar’s final leg

MANILA, Philippines - Filipino race driver Ferdinand “Enzo” Pastor placed second in the final race of the Eurorace Nascar Touring Car Championship Series (ERNTS) and thus earned rights to be with the world’s best and brightest in the All Star Nascar Gala in Charlotte, North Carolina in December.

Attending the Charlotte awards night are Nascar winners from Sprint Cup, Nationwide, K&N pro series and International Whelen EURO Nascar, Mexico Nascar and Canadian Nascar.

Pastor competed and completed the 12 ERNTS races, finishing sixth overall in the 2013 Whelen Euro Nascar Touring Series and in the Nascar World.

He was there in the Nogaro Circuit, France; Dijon Circuit, France; Brands Hatch, United Kingdom; Tours-Oval in France, Monza in Italy and Le Mans, France.

In the concluding race, Pastor rallied from 10th position in the starting grid after a minor mishap and an engine malfunction of his car, and impressed the crowd in beating Vincent Goneau in a breathtaking battle for second.

The Filipino race driver eventually went ahead as Goneau lost control in one maneuver.

Goneau actually filed a protest, claiming Pastor hit his car, but the onboard camera clearly showed Goneau lost control and swerved to the Filipino’s line.

“What a race,” said George Silberman, vice president international of NASCAR USA who was present during the races.

Silberman congratulated both drivers saying: “You are both good. You both kept our eyes focused on you two all the way to the finish line.”

“Truly, finishing within the Top 10 is painstakingly hard enough and, of course, it’s a very good result for a race driver who is just learning the new European racing circuits and the ropes of an oval circuit at that,” said Tom Pastor, father of Enzo and president of the Asian Formula Autosports Foundation Inc. (AFAFI).

“The bonus is we can now move forward and take this opportunity to shine in Charlotte NASCAR home ground,” Pastor also said.