NASCAR Unveils Their First-Ever Electric Vehicle Prototype

Can you imagine Dale Earnhardt driving one of these things? (The answer to that is obviously "Hell no"). NASCAR unveiled their first-ever electric vehicle prototype today while in Chicago for this weekend's street course race - though it doesn't sound like we'll see the car out on the track during a race any time soon. Developed in collaboration with the three current manufacturers in NASCAR, Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota, the prototype has already been on the track during a three-day test at Martinsville Speedway with former Cup Series driver David Ragan as the test driver. It features three STARD UHP 6-Phase motors, and a 78-kWh liquid-cooled battery. The powertrain is capable of producing up to 1,000 kilowatts, which is equivalent to approximately 1,300 horsepower. (For reference, the Cup Series currently runs a 670 hp engine). The car also features regenerative braking, which converts the energy from the brakes back into power, which NASCAR says makes the car "ideal for road courses and short track ovals." NASCAR also announced a partnership with ABB, an electrification and automation company that has joined as the sport's first partner in its sustainability effort, NASCAR Impact. https://twitter.com/jeff_gluck/status/1809619739188015151 But it doesn't sound like NASCAR has any plans to use the EV for a racing series just yet. In announcing the car, NASCAR Senior Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer John Probst said it's more about exploring for the future: "I'm not sitting here saying we're going to announce a series. As much as anything, it's about us exploring what our future could be... As we learn, we’ll be in the driver’s seat wherever our future takes us." NASCAR has set a goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2035, but in addition to electrification, Probst says the series is also exploring more eco-friendly advancements to combustion engines such as hydrogen or other sustainable fuel sources: "There's a long, long road ahead for the combustion engine, be it powered from sustainable fuel, or hydrogen, for that matter — that's something else that we're very interested in." As far as the electric vehicle, it would obviously change the experience for fans quite a bit: Imagine going to a NASCAR race and not being able to hear the cars on the track. Or smell the racing fuel burning as the cars pass. Just wouldn't be the same (or as exciting, in my opinion). And NASCAR realizes that fans aren't ready for an all-EV series yet:

"I wouldn't sit here today and say we'll never do a series. I'm just saying that right now. I don't want to create the expectation that the series is going to be announced for next year. That's not the case. We're not saying no to it either.

But I just think it's an opportunity for us to do something that is meaningful in the sense that we're developing new technology for our car [and then] judge the feedback from our fans. At the end of the day, that's all we measure ourselves by ultimately. We want to be relevant to the OEMs [manufacturers], but if we're relevant to them, and no one watches, they're going to look at us and go, ‘Why are we messing around over there.’"

I guess we'll have to wait and see if we actually see this car on the track in the future. But one thing's for sure: It's going to be a tough sell for fans if NASCAR wants to make such a drastic change.

https://twitter.com/NASCAR/status/1809620314520752190