The glorious sound of engines starting up and roaring to life with anxious anticipation might be gone when NASCAR starts running EV models.
This could happen as early as 2023.
A date and location have already been set for an exhibition race that could lead the way toward an electrified future for the sport. It’s not a secret that automakers are building electric vehicles for consumers to enjoy. Part of the draw of NASCAR is the fact that the cars on the track have similar names to those we can see on the roads every day.
Don’t Let it Be True – Purists Hate This Change
Driving purists hate change and don’t want to see electrified vehicles on the road. Of course, true purists don’t like computers, power steering, disc brakes, or automatic transmissions. Regardless of how the aged crowd that tells you how driving was done in the old days feels about these changes, electrification is the future of driving. This means we’re likely to see more electrified racing in the near future. NASCAR certainly won’t be the first racing series to add electric models to the mix, but it could be the next.
A New NASCAR Platform Makes it Possible
The next generation of platforms for NASCAR Cup Series cars is called Generation Seven. This platform is designed to be a modular platform capable of accepting any powertrain. This new platform could allow NASCAR to offer EV racing by next year, and that might be with some vehicles that you wouldn’t typically think of for NASCAR racing. Currently, we see the Ford Mustang GT, Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, and Toyota Camry TRD bodies on the track. If the proposed changes take place, we might see something that feels a bit odd when you think about true American racing.
Which Bodies Could Make Their Way to the Track?
Can you picture a trio of electric SUVs wearing all the NASCAR ads, colors, and numbers racing around the track? That’s precisely what we might see in the near future. The future bodies might be the Ford Mustang Mach-E, Chevrolet Blazer SS, and Toyota bZ4X. These three are all-electric SUVs, which could seriously change the game when it’s time to hit the track. We would go from a racing series that was borne out of muscle cars that were running moonshine across borders to electric SUVs running around the track in 2024.
How Soon Will Electric Cars Race for NASCAR
We don’t expect to see NASCAR run EV models at the Cup Series level, but we could see the electric cars on the track as early as the 2023 Busch Light Clash. This race will take place at the Los Angeles Coliseum, and it will be the opening salvo to a series of six exhibition races that could have an all-electric conversion. The Busch Light Clash would be a demonstration prototype race, with the exhibition races scheduled for the third quarter of next year.
Why Drive These Electric Races?
The goal of running races in this manner is to learn the best way will be to move forward toward a national series that could draw the attention of the crowds. The goal is to have a national series by 2025 that is an all-electric racing series. To get there, NASCAR has to learn what works and what doesn’t work, and a few exhibition races could help make that possible. Of course, during testing, there will be a plethora of questions that require answering so that a new electric series of racing can be successful.
An Interesting Initial Plan
In order to grab the attention of racing fans, these new NASCAR EV races will need to hit some targets. The lap times need to be on pace with current cars. We expect initial acceleration to be extremely fast, which will be fun to see. These race cars will need to run for 30 minutes during an entire race without battery swaps or charging. This might become a new racing format with shorter, sprint-style races that are fun to watch because they don’t last any longer than a typical sitcom. That might be everything we want in a new race.
What Will Pit Stops Be Used For in this Series
During these exhibition-style races, pit stops will only be for mechanical issues, crash damage, and tires. These first races will run on short tracks with tight corners, which means only a few cars at a time. The goal is to have 12 Gen Seven EVs on the track during these races. Hopefully, that will mean four cars from each of the three brands that compete in NASCAR Cup Series racing. The EV races will take place over six weekends when NASCAR Cup series races are happening, and there could be two EV races per weekend, one on each day.
The Gen Seven Platform is Made for This
To create these new Gen Seven cars, the modifications are much simpler than they would be for a consumer vehicle. The ICE clips in the front and rear can be removed, allowing the powertrain to be changed for the electric setup. This means the suspension and brakes would remain the same for both electric and gasoline-powered cars. The proposed change would put three motors into the EV racing cars to allow all four wheels to drive the car. The combination of these three motors should produce more than 1,000 horsepower.
It’s Just the Beginning
You might not be a fan of electric cars, but if you see NASCAR with an EV race, you might want to check it out. These cars should be fast, impressive, and just as compelling as the gas-powered machines. If you’re looking forward to the future of electric racing in NASCAR, you won’t have to wait much longer. This is only the beginning of what NASCAR will do with the new platform and a variety of all-electric cars. Could we see longer races with battery swaps? Might there be a required charging pit stop and a pair of cars driving tandem? Lots of questions surround this change; many might not be answered in one year.
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