The series was founded in 1977 by several motorsport clubs affiliated with ADAC or the Deutscher Motorsport Verband (DMV), who united to pool their individual touring car events on the Nordschleife. For many years the championship was informally known as the Veedol-Cup after its lubrication-product sponsor, and was later officially named the BFGoodrich Langstreckenmeisterschaft (BFGLM) from 2001 to 2009. In 2009 the organisation became Veranstaltergemeinschaft Langstreckenpokal Nürburgring, giving it the widely recognised acronym VLN, a name it held until 2020 when the series was rebranded the NLS. The underlying VLN member organisation retains its name despite the race series rebrand.
In late 2023, the series rights-holders and the Nürburgring operator entered a legal dispute over 2024 race dates, briefly threatening the calendar. The 2024 season ran eight races across six weekends, including qualifying races for the 24 Hours. The 2025 season expanded to ten races over eight weekends, also incorporating a new NLS Light category for entry-level competitors.
Each NLS event is a one-day affair held on Saturdays to contain costs. A mandatory drivers' briefing takes place at 07:30, qualifying runs from 08:30 to 10:00, and the race starts at 12:00 following a warm-up lap behind safety cars. Three starting groups are dispatched in sequence, with the fastest cars completing the 20.8-kilometre Nordschleife in just over eight minutes. After parc fermé opens and the podium ceremonies conclude, teams can travel home the same day. An average of 113 cars started per race during the 2023 season, illustrating the championship's volume and variety.
The calendar highlights include the Nürburgring 6 Hours, regarded as the season's prestige event, the NLS-6 Barbarossapreis — where all podium finishers receive red wigs commemorating Michael Schumacher's Formula 1 title campaigns — and the NLS-9 Münsterlandpokal (the Schinkenrennen or ham race), where class winners receive large pieces of Münsterland cured ham.
The NLS fields a uniquely wide class structure designed to accommodate cars from near-stock hatchbacks to full GT3 prototypes. The VLN production car group covers normally-aspirated classes (V3–V6), turbocharged classes (VT1–VT3), a front-wheel drive subset, and dedicated hybrid and electric categories. The 24h-Special (SP) group handles pure race cars eligible for other championships, differentiated by engine displacement from SP1 to SP8, with the SP9 class reserved for FIA GT3 machinery and the SP10 class for GT4 cars. Historic cars built in 2008 or earlier compete in the H group. TCR and manufacturer cup classes such as the BMW M240i, BMW M2 CS, Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, and Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport round out the field.
The length of the Nordschleife and the championship's mixed-class format demand unusual safety practices. The NLS does not use safety cars. Double yellow flags impose a local 120 km/h speed limit, and Code 60 flags restrict cars to 60 km/h in the most dangerous sections. Recovery vehicles routinely travel the circuit under local double-yellow conditions. The large closing-speed differentials between GT3 cars and the slower production-class entries remain an ongoing concern given the many blind crests and corners on the Nordschleife.
Five drivers have been killed in racing accidents during NLS competition: Wolfgang Offermann in 1986, Wolfgang Scholz in 1998, Carola Biehler in 2000, Leo Löwenstein in 2010, and Juha Miettinen in 2026. Two drivers died of heart attacks at the wheel, Stefan Eickelmann in 1998 and two-time champion Wolf Silvester in 2013.
The main drivers' championship is determined by group positions rather than overall results, meaning that a driver battling for the NLS title may be racing against competitors in the same production car class rather than contesting outright honours. This structure has allowed drivers in entry-level hatchbacks such as the Renault Clio, Opel Corsa, and Suzuki Swift to become NLS champions in past seasons. The overall teams' championship, named the NLS Speed-Trophy, runs on pure aggregate results and is contested primarily by GT3 (SP9) and Cup 2 (Porsche 992 GT3) entries.
The NLS is the foundation of grassroots Nordschleife culture, attracting manufacturers, professional drivers, and club racers simultaneously to the same circuit under the same regulations. Its DNA — low-cost one-day format, massive entry diversity, and close alignment with the Nürburgring 24 Hours — has made it the model for long-distance amateur-professional mixed-class racing in Europe and a natural proving ground for production performance cars from every major manufacturer.