The automotive community was recently caught off guard by the earlier-delayed appearance of Tesla’s Cybertruck, which can now finally be seen on the roads! With the alternative to petrol-powered behemoths quickly becoming silent electric vehicles, the motorsport community all over the world was left fearing a highly unfavorable change. And when NASCAR announced its EV concept a few weeks ago, the doomsayers had no choice but to prepare for the worst.

However, NASCAR’s push for an EV concept is not all doom and gloom, with the Vice President of its Vehicle Design, Brandon Thomas, sharing that the sport aims to do its best to retain the raw sound of the glorious V8s that is an essential pillar of the success of America’s favorite motorsport. But how can the sport move away from gasoline and still retain the sound of combustion with sustainable fuel? The answer is simple: Hydrogen.

NASCAR’s EV concept proves a worthy challenger to the Cup Series Next Gen Car

In only a few weeks, NASCAR’s EV prototype will finally make its debut in front of an eager crowd at the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum. The car features an unbranded crossover body and runs the same chassis and platform as the Cup Series car. The car was subjected to a test of over 340 laps of the half-mile short track, and the results spoke for themselves. With the battle fairly even, the EV managed to catch up to within a few tenths of the Cup Series car during the testing session in Virginia.

But while the signs are promising for the EV concept, at the end of the day, NASCAR officials still believe the car is nothing more than a showcase of the sport’s technological prowess. The main intention behind the EV is to show the world that NASCAR will be ready to take a step forward whenever the time comes, relieving the pressure on the fans as well as sponsors who are sceptical of the sport’s future.

Brandon Thomas was quoted by SportsNaut during NASCAR’s annual media briefing that their motive with the EV was to replicate Garage 56’s success at the 24 Hour of Le Mans and mimic how it helped boost the sport’s popularity worldwide. He stated, “The one thing Garage56 showed us is that we can make a pretty big splash with just one car. One day, I hope we have a hydrogen combustion version of this.”

And with the revelation of hydrogen power being a prime prospect, Thomas revealed that the sport was more than open to testing various fuel alternatives and powertrains. This meant that the EV’s recent testing success did not condemn combustion engines to a painful end. He added, “It’s not always the same thing but for us, we want to have a coupe, a (crossover) and a truck as a platform with sustainable fuels and combustion.”

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With that said, NASCAR officials wanted to assure the community that the beloved sound of the combustion engine would not go away. And that revelation came like a breath of fresh air in the form of an overseas trip.

How a trip to Japan convinced NASCAR of Hydrogen’s promise

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At the end of the day, even though EVs are a superior alternative to gasoline and race fuel, the biggest drawback that enthusiasts face is ultimately the loss of sound. Just imagine the stock cars roaring down the oval at Daytona, but there is unfortunately no audible roar! How would that be? Well, fear not, as Thomas and Co. have kept the community’s biggest fear well in mind while planning for the future.

Thomas stated, “A lot of our partners are more and more looking at hydrogen-based solutions. Certainly, for us, the sound of the engines when you throw the green flag … if you love this stuff, you think about it, and you get goosebumps when our cars come to life when they throw the green flag. It’s very appealing to keep that.”

And while there was no way to know for sure if hydrogen combustion would truly perform at the same level as modern EVs, all it took was a trip to Japan in November for executives to realise they had a future with Hydrogen. “I can say that watching a hydrogen combustion car running an endurance race in Japan sounds like an engine,” Thomas said. “So that was certainly appealing from that perspective. It would be cool as well to get back to the leading edge of technology at some point, too.”

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So even though the EV revelation has taken the NASCAR community by storm and resulted in many fearing the worst, the future could still be loud and glorious if things go the Hydrogen way.