Veteran racing driver, Arnout Kok, is on an audacious mission to become only the second South African to race in the NASCAR Cup Series and, in the process, use the platform as a vehicle to promote the country. Saffa Mag’s Ockert de Villiers checked in with him.
The 45-year-old Kok, who already has a taste of American stock car racing, hopes to follow in the footsteps of the legendary Sarel ‘Supervan’ van der Merwe with an appearance in the top-tier NASCAR Cup Series.
Kok, in collaboration with Brand South Africa, is plotting a path towards reaching this goal and promoting the country as a trade, tourism, and investment destination through activations and business networking events.
“There hasn’t been another South African in that (NASCAR). If you look at NASCAR, Formula One, IndyCar and Sportscar in terms of TV viewership and the prestige, those are the four series,” Kok said from his home in Andorra.
“We’ve had drivers and champions in some of those, but not in NASCAR. So there’s this glaring hole of why aren’t we doing it? And the answer is because, you know, to drive a stock car around an oval at 200 miles an hour is very alien compared to anything else like racing at Kyalami in a V8 Supercar.”
Boasting a career that spans more than 30 years, Kok first cut his teeth piloting go-karts at the iDube Raceway in Pietermaritzburg, before he moved to the United Kingdom after school in pursuit of his dream of becoming a Formula One driver. Kok has graced tracks around the world, competing in Formula Ford, Formula Asia, Historic F1, Formula Junior, Formula GTI, Legends and Late Models.
On a business trip to Texas in 2013, Kok first experienced live NASCAR racing, which instilled the desire to race in the famous stock car series. By this time, he had stopped racing competitively to focus on his career.
“Just the noise, the sound of a V8 stock car going around the oval track, I fell in love with it instantly…and I thought this is kind of my chance to race at a very high level, and it’s not that big a restriction on my age,” Kok said.
In 2017, Kok won the European Late Model Series championship, which served as his ticket into the United States and a shot at reaching the NASCAR Series Cup.
Kok’s title victory, coupled with his pedigree as a seasoned driver, meant he could get his foot in the door in the American racing circuit via the ARCA Menards Series, which is considered a feeder into NASCAR. ARCA Menards Series races often take place at the same track as NASCAR events and serve as the curtain raiser to the main attraction. Race drivers also get behind the wheel of retired NASCAR stock cars.
“I thought, well, there’s only been one South African driver ever to race at NASCAR, Sarel van Merwe,” Kok said. “There’s never been anyone else, as far as I’m aware, and so then I thought, this is an opportunity to do something unique and say, we’ll get South Africa into NASCAR.”
Looking for partners to help fund his dream, Kok approached South African Tourism, the South African Chamber of Commerce and Brand South Africa. Kok’s idea resonated with Brand South Africa as NASCAR’s three national touring series presented an opportunity to showcase the country to large audiences.
“When you walk around the pits in the paddock, you see that teams are spending $30 million a year to run a single car, and you’ve got to run that at a very high, professional level to generate that kind of funding,” Kok said.
“There are some incredibly professional and Fortune 500 and Fortune 100 companies that are involved. So Brand South Africa saw that as a great opportunity to network.”
Kok made his debut in the ARCA Menards Series at the 2021 Dawn Ultra 150, where he finished in a creditable ninth place behind the wheel of his No. 10 Brand South Africa Toyota Camry at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
With a foot in the door, Kok and Brand SA do activations that promote South African business at the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR XFINITY Series and the ARCA Menards Series. In an historic partnership, Brand SA will have a presence on a car for 15 races in the second-tier NASCAR XFINITY Series and two races in the NASCAR Cup Series.
“Brand South Africa’s ethos behind the project is to change people’s perceptions of South Africa. So we’re looking at it as a trade opportunity, tourism opportunity and investment opportunity,” he said.
“There are various projects that Brand South Africa has at the moment with water treatment and energy, all the way through to game rangers in Kruger National Park needing body armour. So, off the back of that, we’ve had opportunities where companies affiliated with NASCAR said they wanted to trade in South Africa.”
While overtures toward American business are bearing fruit, Kok also hopes his appearance on the circuit will open the door for other South African race drivers. “I’m kind of the trailblazer, I’m the guy going through, and hopefully, there’ll be other drivers from South Africa who will follow in my footsteps and get into the sport a lot younger,” Kok said.
“I’m working towards that and trying to create a self-sustaining programme where we can have businesses with a South African connection funding this project.”
