NEWPORT BEACH, CA--(Marketwired - May 18, 2015) - O'Connell Racing, a Southern California based company, announced today that American racing driver Kevin O'Connell will become the first NASCAR driver to have competed in racing events in all three of NASCAR's international-based series with his entry and race in this weekend's NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 event at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on May 17.

Kevin O'Connell, in collaboration with Rick Ware Racing, set out to schedule and contract with racing teams in each of the international NASCAR series in an effort to compete in specific races in both road courses and oval tracks. In the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, Kevin drove for Racing Club Partners of Belgium with teammates Nathalie Maillet and Baron Christophe De Fierlant with renowned team owner Franz Dubois in the American Speedfest race at Brands Hatch in Kent, England. In the NASCAR XFINITY Series in America; with teammates Stanton Barrett and Carlos Contreras, Kevin drove for Rick Ware Racing in multiple road racing events including Watkins Glen, Mid-Ohio and in 2014 at Road America with a 3rd place finish and having been named Mobil 1 Driver of the Race in the Gardner Denver 200 Fired Up by Johnsonville. In the NASCAR Mexico Series, Kevin drove for Raceplanet-Adhler-Anahuac Racing with teammate Enrique Contreras III in the Toyota 120 at Phoenix International Raceway. This weekend in Canada, Kevin will drive for White Motorsports with teammate Marc-Antoine Camirand in the Castrol Presents the Victoria Day Speedfest race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park outside of Toronto, Canada.

Driver Kevin O'Connell stated, "We recognized that NASCAR was growing beyond the borders of United States and after witnessing the success of the Canadian racing events I set out to develop a plan with Rick Ware to establish relationships and race in all of the international series while accomplishing a new and single achievement for both our team and marketing partners."

The inaugural international NASCAR racing series began in 2004 with the NASCAR "Mexico" Toyota Series and was followed by NASCAR Canadian Tire Series in 2007 and NASCAR Whelen Euro Series in 2009.

"This is a unique and exciting effort that Kevin has undertaken," said Joe Balash, NASCAR international competition liaison. "What Kevin is doing really underscores the many opportunities that exist for drivers to compete with NASCAR series based outside of the U.S. borders as well as for international drivers to compete in the U.S."

About O'Connell Racing:
O'Connell Racing (OCR) featuring American road course racing driver Kevin O'Connell is a motorsports competition and marketing company that competes in NASCAR in America, Canada, Europe, and Mexico and in the IMSA TUDOR United Sports Car Championship Series recently in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Racing Series and in various SVRA/HSR vintage racing events.

About Rick Ware Racing:
Rick Ware Racing (RWR) has competed in multiple NASCAR racing series including the NASCAR K&N Pro Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, NASCAR XFINITY Series and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series as well as the ARCA Series, the WMA Motocross Series, AMA Arenacross, Motocross and Supercross Series, Summer X-Games, Lamborghini Super Trofeo Racing Series and the TUDOR United Sports Car Championship Series.