The driver who defends AMattheis Vogel in NASCAR Brasil, Gabriel Casagrande, won the opening stage of the fifth round of the 2026 season, raced on the night of Saturday (1) at the Mato Grosso International Raceway in Cuiabá. The owner of car number 83 took the lead in the early laps and secured the victory in the first part of the race. The result, combined with a 14th-place finish in the final stage, keeps the Paraná-born driver in second place in the championship.
The first portion of the race lasted 35 minutes. Casagrande moved to the lead on lap four and held it through to the end of the opening stage on the 2,800-meter outer loop. In the second segment, the Paraná driver restarted from fifth position and remained among the frontrunners when, with less than ten minutes to go, he spun after being touched by an opponent.
“Saturday was positive despite the incident. We secured a victory with a very good pace, so I’m satisfied. It’s a shame that, once again, I lost the fight for the win to a driver from the other class who took me out of the race. I’m sad about that, but happy for the victory in the first stage. I earned important points. I leave with a positive balance and we’ll have more good things this year,” said Gabriel Casagrande, who is sponsored by Jupiter Batteries, Axalta, OnPetro, STP, Cresol, RP Info, UFI Filters, Chevrolet and OMP.
With the Cuiabá stage now in the books, Casagrande has 140 points and remains second in the NASCAR Brasil championship, four points behind the leader. This season, the driver has three wins, achieved in Santa Cruz do Sul, Cascavel and the opening stage in Cuiabá, which counted as a standalone race, in addition to four podiums and five top-5 finishes.
NASCAR Brasil continues the 2026 season on August 22 and 23, when it visits the Ayrton Senna International Raceway in Londrina (PR) for the sixth round of the year, and the penultimate before the playoffs begin to decide the title.
