Myatt Snider, 2018 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Rookie of the Year, will race full-time in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series this season, it was announced Tuesday.
Snider, 24, the son of NBC Sports pit reporter Marty Snider, will compete in the Euro Series’ ELITE 2 Division, piloting the No. 48 Racing Engineering Ford Mustang along with three-time series champion Ander Vilarino. Myatt Snider will be among 14 drivers competing for rookie of the year honors.
“It will be my first ever chance to race in Europe and that’s not an opportunity you get very often,” Snider said in a media release. “It is going to be an interesting change of pace and it is a fantastic opportunity to take on this challenge with a such a top-level team as Racing Engineering. I am really excited.”
This is the 11th season for the series, with a record 33 cars entered for this weekend’s season-opening race in Valencia, Spain. The season schedule has also been expanded to 13 races.
“I’m going (to Valencia) with an open mind,” said Snider, who has spent much of his racing career on ovals. “But of course, I want to perform because I’m a competitive guy and I want to win.”
For the first time in the series’ history, it will include a number of champions from various motorsports series including NASCAR Cup (Bobby Labonte), Formula 1 (Jacques Villeneuve), NASCAR Euro (Alon Day and Ander Vilarino), Mexican NASCAR (Ruben Garcia Jr.) and a 24 Hours of Le Mans winner (Christophe Bouchut).
In addition, 20 countries are represented between the 57 drivers and teams across both NASCAR Euro ELITE 1 and ELITE 2 divisions.
I guess the cat's out of the bag. Excited to get this season rolling with @REOfficial! First stop: Valencia 😎 pic.twitter.com/d62UBIsFuG
— 𝘔𝘺𝘢𝘵𝘵 𝘚𝘯𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 (@MyattSnider) April 9, 2019
Excited to watch you and @Bobby_Labonte this season.
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) April 9, 2019