NASCAR surprised attendees at the Chicago Street Race on Saturday by debuting a prototype all-electric SUV.
Perhaps this is surprising, since the series hasn’t even gone hybrid yet. NASCAR is still a race of loud, thirsty V-8s and rear-wheel-drive cars with rear-mounted manual transmissions.
While the organization has given no hints about going all-electric next year, or even this decade, the prototype is certainly a sign that they’re thinking about the day NASCAR does so.
The NASCAR electric prototype features all-wheel drive and is powered by three six-speed motors—one in the front, two in the rear—that produce more than 1,300 horsepower and roll on four Goodyear Racing Eagle tires. A 78-kwh battery packs power and features an emphasis on regenerative braking that NASCAR says makes it “ideal for racetracks and short ovals.”
NASCAR electric race car prototype
The body is made from a “sustainable composite material made from flax fibres,” with the steering, suspension, brakes and wheels all taken from current race cars.
The prototype was developed in conjunction with charging and automation equipment supplier ABB, which is now an official partner of green racing and is heavily involved in Formula E and F1.
The road to electrifying “classic cars”
While the “S” and “C” in NASCAR stand for race cars, the cars in the series have little to do with production cars.
That starts to change in 2022, with so-called Next Gen cars that have updated race car components, aiming to be more in line with production cars on a component basis, even if not entirely. For example, it has finally ditched the old solid rear axle layout in favor of independent rear suspension.
NASCAR seems to be in a tough spot, as the organization has pledged to go green while its fan base doesn’t seem to appreciate the change. When it introduced its NextGen car, NASCAR said hybrid powertrains could debut by 2024. But with that change still nowhere in sight, the earliest it’s estimated to debut is around 2027—though current race cars are mimicking the Ford Mustang Mach-E, Toyota bZ4X, and Chevrolet Blazer EV.
Zero-emission racing cars have been around for a long time. Ford Focus Electric became the first NASCAR EV track car in 2012 and Toyota Mirai leads NASCAR in 2015. And some NASCAR drivers back electric cars even before that.
In April 2023, NASCAR committed to its first long-term carbon emissions target and “launched a new era of sustainability for America’s premier motorsport.” That goal includes reducing carbon emissions to zero across all core operations by 2035.
2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse NASCAR Cup Series Race Car
Still the arena of the 5 mpg guzzlers
NASCAR drivers’ fuel consumption has not changed much over the decades and remains around 5 mpg during races. NASCAR’s fuel consumption is estimated to be around 2 million gallons in a season—the same amount of gas that about 5,000 cars use (30 mpg, 12,000 miles) in a year.
By contrast, a Formula E car completes an entire race on a full charge of less than 47 kilowatt hours—or the energy equivalent of about 1.4 gallons of gasoline. NASCAR cars can use about 80 gallons in a race, which is admittedly much longer.
Nissan GT-R Skyline 2024 Edition
Can electric cars bring back the “stocks”?
As Nissan recently argued, Formula E is providing more than a testing ground for production car technologies—just like e-4orce four-wheel drive system for electric vehiclesand its future performance applications.
The more relevant question in NASCAR’s green mission is perhaps whether its target audience is ready to say goodbye to the era of gas-guzzling V-8 engines.
2024 Dodge Charger Daytona
There’s a market test going on. The EV that’s likely to attract the biggest NASCAR crowd is probably 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona Electric CarThe Dodge EV will obviously not emit the same amount of gasoline fumes as the original, but it will include a “bone-shaking” Fratzonic Chambered exhaust system that relies on an amplifier and tuning chamber—perhaps creating the perfect blend of old and new, which will ultimately be necessary to sell electric cars to the NASCAR crowd.
