BILLERICAY driver Bradley Smith will be flying the flag for Britain when he competes in NASCAR for the first time.

The 23-year-old driver is more used to sports cars and will make his stock car debut at Brands Hatch next month.

And Smith admits he will be taking a step into the unknown in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series.

“It’s going to be a great opportunity to try something different,” said Smith, who is competing in the Radical European Masters this season.

“I’ve never driven anything like it before and there is a lot more weight than I’m used, so it’s going to be a beast to get round the Brands Hatch Indy circuit.

“There are no aerodynamics on the car, so that will take a bit of getting used to, but it’s very nice to be working with Whelen.”

The company is the long-term sponsor of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) in America and sponsors the European series.

Smith was invited to drive at Brands after racing for the Whelen Motorsport-sponsored Marsh Racing team at the Rolex 24 race at Daytona earlier this year, where he finished 10th in the prototype class.

He will be the only British driver in the race on Sunday, June 8, and is hoping the home crowd will be behind him.

The race will be a break from the Radical European Masters championship where Smith has been racing a Radical SR8 this season.

He took a second place at Germany’s Nurburgring in the first round before taking victory in the second round at Brands Hatch.

The former Mayflower pupil returns to the series at the Hungaroring in July. He is currently second in the standings, six points behind early leader Tristan Viidas.