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Luli Del Castello is an Italian racing driver from Roccaraso who inherited her passion for speed from watching her father compete, eventually rising to lead the EuroNASCAR Ladies Trophy before taking a dramatic 22-month hiatus and staging a comeback that literally began with a bang.

EARLY YEARS

Born around 1985 in Roccaraso, Italy, Luli Del Castello’s racing education began the old-fashioned way—trackside, watching her father wheel a race car around circuits. While most kids might find standing around racetracks boring, something about the noise, the speed, and the sheer audacity of it all stuck with her. It was that classic motorsports origin story: a child mesmerized by a parent’s hobby, absorbing the culture through osmosis until it became her own obsession. Her father’s races weren’t just weekend entertainment; they were the spark that would eventually ignite her own racing career, proving that sometimes the best way to get your kid into motorsports is simply to let them watch.

OTHER INTERESTS

Beyond the racetrack, Del Castello keeps her cards close to her chest. There’s no public record of hobbies, side hustles, or whether she collects vintage helmets or spends her downtime conquering mountain peaks. What we do know is that she’s a racer through and through—someone who, by her own admission, never stopped being active even during the Covid pandemic. That kind of drive suggests her interests likely orbit around the same fuel-and-asphalt universe that defines her professional life.

EARLY SUCCESS

The specifics of Del Castello’s early racing career remain frustratingly vague—no documented karting victories, no junior championship titles carefully preserved in press releases. What we do know is that she found her way to EuroNASCAR, specifically the Elite 2 class, where she wheeled the No. 54 Chevrolet Camaro for CAAL Racing, a team with a solid track record of producing race winners. At some point before 2022, she also shared the CAAL Racing garage with driver Gianmarco Ercoli, though the details of that partnership have been lost to the notoriously poor record-keeping that plagues lower-tier motorsports coverage. She eventually climbed to the top of the EuroNASCAR Ladies Trophy standings, a distinction that marked her as one of the series’ standout female competitors.

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS

• CIRCA 2022-2024: Led the EuroNASCAR Ladies Trophy standings[3].
• 2022: Competed in the DBOX eNASCAR International iRacing Series at Zolder, proving she could hold her own in the virtual realm[5].
• 2024: Earned Lady Trophy honors at Autodrom Most during the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, race 2[2].
• 2024: Returned to competition after a 22-month hiatus, substituting for Sven van Laere with CAAL Racing at Autodrom Most[2][4].

INSPIRATIONS

Del Castello’s primary inspiration was right there in the pits—her father, whose racing exploits gave her a front-row seat to the sport’s demands and rewards. Watching him compete wasn’t just family bonding; it was an apprenticeship in what it takes to pilot a race car under pressure. Beyond that paternal influence, she’s kept her personal pantheon of racing heroes to herself, never publicly gushing about childhood idols or the drivers whose posters might have hung on her bedroom wall.

REPUTATION

Del Castello’s reputation rests largely on her resilience and her ability to laugh at herself even when things go sideways—literally. After a 22-month absence from racing, she returned to the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series at Autodrom Most with high hopes and the backing of the experienced CAAL Racing squad. Race one didn’t exactly go to plan: contact during a Full Course Yellow sent her into the gravel for a DNF, prompting her to joke that her comeback was “literally with a bang.”[2] But she bounced back in race two, starting 19th and clawing her way to 16th (after a penalty promoted her from 17th), good enough to snag Lady Trophy honors. Her candid reflection afterward captured both her determination and her self-awareness: “I had been dreaming of being able to return to racing for months and finally I had the chance to make it happen,” she said, before admitting that the long hiatus had definitely shown. “I have never stopped, not even under Covid. Instead, these 22 months away from racing have indeed been a factor last weekend.”[2] That kind of honesty—acknowledging rust without making excuses—has earned her respect as someone who understands that racing form isn’t maintained by wishful thinking.

FUTURE GOALS/PLANS

As of August 2024, Del Castello officially announced her EuroNASCAR comeback with CAAL Racing, climbing back into the No. 54 Chevrolet Camaro[4]. Whether that Autodrom Most appearance was a one-off substitute drive or the beginning of a sustained campaign remains unclear—she hasn’t publicly outlined plans for 2025 or beyond. Given her stated dream of returning to racing and her willingness to shake off the rust after nearly two years away, it’s a safe bet she’s not done yet. But for now, the specifics of her future remain as mysterious as the details of her early career.

References:

Wikipedia – CAAL Racing
Racers Behind the Helmet – Luli Del Castello returns to the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series
Racers Behind the Helmet – Luli Del Castello: from watching her father’s races
World of EuroNASCAR – Luli del Castello Officially Announces EuroNASCAR Comeback
iRacing – DBOX eNASCAR International iRacing Series Preview
DriverDB – Luli Del Castello Profile