Fan Concerns Regarding the New Electric Vehicle at the Clash Might Be a Little Far Fetched

There are some reservations among the NASCAR community about certain important aspects of racing and race cars in particular. Although there has been a demand for an increase in horsepower for the Next Gen cars, there’s a much larger change blooming behind the scenes at NASCAR that could potentially change the whole dynamics of how the sport will be viewed. That change is the advent of EV race car.

Confirming the development, NASCAR on Tuesday announced that they will be revealing their first all-electric car at the Busch Light Clash event. The EV racecar prototype will be piloted by David Ragan at the Coliseum. However, the community is not too thrilled about this development, and has even led to far-fetched thoughts about the downfall of sports. Clearing the air about the EV prototype and misconception, Jim Campbell, V.P. at Chevrolet Performance Vehicles and Motorsports explained how this is not an overnight change and will not take over the present functioning of stock cars.

EV Race Car is not a fall from grace for NASCAR

It was KickinTheTires.net who broke the story about NASCAR secretly developing an EV race project last year in July. The report suggested the proposed EV series was in works under wraps with the collaboration of OEM partners and the race teams as it progressed. Well, soon enough the secret was out and even NASCAR’s Chief Operating Officer, Steve O’Donnell confirmed their plans to travel to Japan to get more knowledge about alternate fuel and powertrain technologies.

As mentioned, NASCAR’s foray into the EV sector was not hidden from the OEM partners. While there is an air of confusion and far-fetched assumptions regarding the role of EV cars in NASCAR, one of the OEMs, Chevrolet has burst the bubble about distant concerns and speculations surrounding the announcement of the EV prototype and its impact on the sport in the longer run.

Jim Campbell said, “Clearly, all the OEMs were aware of the mule that was built, the test car, that is what we call a mule in our industry(…) I think what they are doing is they are looking at alternative propulsion technologies to see what will work on the track. It doesn’t mean it is going racing tomorrow, it is a matter of learning, testing and learning.

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Social and market forces were key factors that led to this change of narrative for NASCAR and going by the reports from KickinTheTires, it is the Japanese manufacturer who might hand NASCAR its first EV race car.

TRD President has a better solution in place over the EV racing model

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It will be a massive shift if NASCAR indeed chooses to go from roaring combustion stock cars to a more silent EV alternative in the future. For many fans, there is nothing as sweet as the sound of a race car. They contemplate there being a better alternative on the table that can retain the essence of NASCAR and at the same time bring about the necessary changes. Well, Toyota Racing Development President, David Wilson has found a remedy to this issue.

“I don’t believe there has been a successful battery-electric racing series, yet, and NASCAR, in my opinion, isn’t going to be any different. There are other technologies, as in that I think would deliver the best of both worlds – a carbon-neutral footprint and it makes noise. So, the technology is there and the biggest limitation is the sourcing of green hydrogen but with as much resources that are behind it, Toyota is investing a lot in that technology, I don’t think it is that far off.” said Wilson.

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The true potential and the possibility for NASCAR to go the green route will only judged after the reveal of their EV prototype car at the Busch Light Clash on February 4.