Michel Disdier (born 10 February 1974) is a French professional racing driver - nickname : "a frenchman in Nascar". He has raced motorcycles in Europe and stock cars in Canada and the United States, running in the

NASCAR Canadian Tire Series The NASCAR Pinty's Series (french: Série NASCAR Pinty's), commonly abbreviated as NPS, is a national NASCAR racing series in Canada, and is a continuation of the old CASCAR Super Series which was founded in 1981. History In September 2006 NASCAR ...

and

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of th ...

Racing career

Disdier first raced motorcycles in Europe, winning the French Moto-Cross Endurance 125cc Championship at age 16. In 1993, he won the

Formula Ford Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. Formula For ...

B French title, and six years later, the Formula France Championship. After becoming an

exchange student A student exchange program is a program in which students from a secondary school (high school) or university study abroad at one of their institution's partner institutions. A student exchange program may involve international travel, but doe ...

to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, with his host family living in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, a popular

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

state, Disdier became interested in

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...

, and made his debut in the

in 2007 in the NAPA Autopro 200 at

Circuit Gilles Villeneuve The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, also spelled ''Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve'' (), is a motor racing circuit in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the venue for the FIA Formula One Canadian Grand Prix. It has previously hosted the FIA World Sportscar ...

for

Trident Racing Trident Racing is a motor racing team that competes in single-seater formula racing. It was founded in 2006 in order to compete in the GP2 championship, which was Europe's second highest-ranking single-seater formula below Formula One. Trident is ...

, finishing 29th. In 2008, Disdier joined Bowsher Motorsports to run in the

ARCA Re/MAX Series The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three national ...

, finishing 13th in his first race at

Salem Speedway Salem Speedway is a long paved oval racetrack in Washington Township, Washington County, near Salem, Indiana, United States, approximately south of Indianapolis. The track has 33° degrees of banking in the corners. Major auto racing series ...

. The following year, Disdier was entered for ten races with Bowsher in the No. 21

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

, running two in 2008 and the remaining eight in 2009. Disdier returned to ARCA in 2013 with

Cunningham Motorsports Cunningham Motorsports (operating at various points in its history as CSG Motorsports and CHS Motorsports) was an American professional stock car racing team that competed primarily in the ARCA Racing Series, but also in the NASCAR Camping Worl ...

Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NA ...

, finishing 11th, a career-high. In January 2014, Disdier was allowed by NASCAR to race on

superspeedway Oval track racing is a form of closed-circuit motorsport that is contested on an oval-shaped race track. An oval track differs from a Road racing, road course in that the layout resembles an oval with turns in only one direction, and the directi ...

s, and tested in the

Camping World Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of th ...

' Preseason Thunder at Daytona in the No. 07 of

SS-Green Light Racing SS-Green Light Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, fielding the No. 07 Ford primarily for Joe Graf Jr. and the No. 08 for primarily for David Starr. They also have a tech ...

, splitting the truck with

Jimmy Weller III Jimmy Weller III (born November 20, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He has driven in various levels of racing, including the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Racing career Early years Wel ...

and

Todd Peck Todd Michael Peck (born January 29, 1986) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 96 Toyota Tundra for Peck Motorsports. He has also raced in the NASCAR Xfin ...

. He was later signed by the team to race in the season-opening

NextEra Energy Resources 250 The NextEra Energy 250 is the first race of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season at Daytona International Speedway and as of 2004 has been held under the lights. It is the Truck Series event of Speedweeks – the series of races leading u ...

with SS-Green Light owner

Bobby Dotter Bobby Dotter (born July 11, 1960) is a former professional stock car racing driver. His father, Bob Dotter, is a three-time champion of the Automobile Racing Club of America. Dotter has made 209 starts in the NASCAR Busch Series, posting 42 top-te ...

serving as spotter, making Disdier the first Frenchman to race in NASCAR since the 1970s. After starting 33rd, Disdier finished 24th, 17 laps behind race winner

Kyle Busch Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and part-t ...

. He returned to the team in 2016 for the Daytona race and avoided wrecks to finish 11th. He later joined

Young's Motorsports Young's Motorsports is an American professional stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the ARCA Menards Series. In the Truck Series, they field three full-time Chevrolet Silverados: the No. 02 for Jesse Li ...

in 2018 for a race at

Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada in Las Vegas, Nevada about 15 miles northeast of the Las Vegas Strip, is a complex of multiple tracks for motorsports racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is ...

, in which he finished 19th.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Camping World Truck Series

Canadian Tire Series

Season still in progress
Ineligible for series points

ARCA Racing Series

(

) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.) Season still in progress
Ineligible for series points

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Disdier, Michel Living people 1974 births Sportspeople from Nice French racing drivers Formula Ford drivers ARCA Menards Series drivers NASCAR drivers