Throughout 75 years of its existence, NASCAR has mostly been a parochial sport. Besides entertaining a niche audience of American gearheads, the series has featured unique race cars. It has always been about high-powered, heavyweight stock cars doing the rounds on circular oval tracks. Now NASCAR’s neighbor, the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, is on the cusp of a revolutionary change.

The type of cars it uses would undergo a significant revamp—a new venture of Chevrolet. The OEM is present in the American sport as well, drawing up possibilities on the Yankee side of racing.

Brazil’s car evolution is setting off NASCAR rumors

The South American racing series has usually seen sedans zooming around racetracks. But now the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series would see a new ride. The Chevrolet Tracker is an SUV, soon to make its first appearance before the sixth round of the series. The SUV race cars would take over the Brazilian racing grid from 2025 onwards, involving the other car manufacturers of Toyota and Mitsubishi.

Chevrolet entered Brazil’s premier racing series back in 1979. The Tracker succeeds the Cruze model after eight years and five titles of the current Chevrolet representative. Enzo Bortoleto, CEO of Audacetech, a car manufacturer and tech arm of Veloci Group, Stock Car’s mother company, detailed the hard work behind this unveiling. “It took years of work and high investment, integrating different areas, nationalities, and cutting-edge companies. From the beginning, with the development of ArcelorMittal’s special steel, to the incorporation of electronics, engine, gearbox, cockpit and safety systems.”

Incidentally, the Brazilian Stock Car Series matches with NASCAR in one aspect. In the new SUV car, the chassis features Impaxx side impact absorbers, similar to NASCAR cars. Designed by Fábio Birolini, the chassis will be 1960 mm wide and have a 2750 mm wheelbase, in contrast to the 1880 mm and 2740 mm, respectively, of the 2023 Next-Gen Stock Car. It underwent torsion and fatigue tests in 1,000 cycles in IPT laboratories to validate the computer simulation data and the chassis production process. This ensures the car’s safety and performance on the track.

And NASCAR’s rumormongers on Reddit are on the alert—does NASCAR’s stock car neighbor’s evolution also signal a change in the American sport?

A Reddit fan page recently posted its speculation: “Next Gen Brazilian Stock Cars are moving from V8 sedans to inline-4 turbo SUVs to follow market trends and attract more OEMs. The new 2025 has quite a lot of updates, and so far has attracted Mitsubishi to join current competitors Chevy and Toyota. Do you believe NASCAR could follow a similar path?”

And fans are pricking up their ears as well. However, most do not believe that SUVs can be something permanent in the Cup Series. One user even commented: “I mean, it’s possible they could add that as another series or maybe turn Xfinity into that but I don’t see Cup being SUVs.” Another chimed in with: “No cup. They should move to turbo hybrids and go that route. But if any series should become SUVs, it’d be the trucks.” Despite what people think, the SUV concept has already entered NASCAR.

The Brazilian model is nothing new

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Whenever you think NASCAR, the roaring bellows of V8 engines shooting around oval racetracks ring in your ears. This has been the tradition in the sport for several decades. However, winds of change are blowing—the racing series that thrives on fuel combustion engines is making headway in the electric realm. The first-ever NASCAR EV prototype was showcased at the Chicago Street Race, and it emulates crossover SUVs. It generated a lot of hype. Some veteran drivers, like David Ragan, applauded the sanctioning body for trying to assimilate with futuristic trends.

This SUV prototype was built with input from all three of NASCAR’s OEMs: Chevrolet, Toyota, and Ford. Although the powertrain would not make a load of noise as current stock cars do, it is plenty capable of smoking a set of tires. The EV is packed with power—the Goodyear wheels produce a maximum output of over 1300 horsepower. The motors are linked to a 78.0-kWh liquid-cooled battery and feature regenerative braking. NASCAR’s authorities said it is “ideal for road courses and short oval tracks.”

Evidently, what Brazil is thinking of introducing to its tracks, NASCAR has already somewhat done. However, a full-blown SUV takeover of the NASCAR landscape seems unlikely, as the fans determine.