Has Dodge Declared a Challenge to Honda for a Spot in NASCAR With its New Next Gen Car?

In the build-up to the 2025 NASCAR season, the sport is on the hunt for new Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). The current favorite to join Ford, Chevrolet, and Toyota, is the Japanese giant, Honda. However, there has been a new development in the automobile industry, which has proven to be very interesting. Last year in December, production of the Dodge Challenger, Charger, and Chrysler 300 officially ended.

Now, news has broken that Dodge has unveiled a brand new Charger. But here’s the kicker: this Dodge Charge is all electric. So where does NASCAR fit into all of this? With the progress of technology, there will come a time in the near future where NASCAR begins fielding electric cars. There was supposed to be an electric demo run at the LA Coliseum before the Clash, but the weather had other ideas.

Is a Dodge comeback to NASCAR a realistic endgame?

Apparently, this new Dodge Charger has been dubbed the Next Gen Charger. Frankly, that nomenclature simply cannot be a coincidence, since the three NASCAR cars are all Next Gen machines. With regard to specs, the Charger boasts of more than 670 horsepower, thanks to two 335 horsepower electric motors. The Charger Daytona also possesses a 100.5 kWh high-voltage battery, which is lithium-ion based and features a high-energy-density nickel-cobalt aluminum chemistry.

The Charger actually has two models, the Charger Daytona and the Charger Sixpack. As it happens, the former boasts of 670 horsepower, and the latter has 550 horsepower. NASCAR fans will find those numbers familiar, because the Chevy Camaro, Ford Mustang Dark Horse and Toyota Camry XSE, have similar specs. Having said all this, wouldn’t it make perfect sense for Dodge to give NASCAR another go?

Dodge face competition from Honda or maybe there’s room for both

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Recently, there were reports that Honda was interested in entering NASCAR. The sport’s president Steve Phelps admitted that there were talks in place, but played coy on the identity of the interested parties. However, it is generally accepted that the OEM concerned is Honda. The automobile giant is already rumoured to be leaving the IndyCar Series, and may look to make a home in the stock car arena.

If Dodge also threw its hat in the ring, NASCAR would be faced with three choices. First and foremost, they could go local with Dodge, who already have a history with NASCAR. The second path could be to grant Honda its NASCAR debut and give Toyota some company and a rivalry. Option number three could be very ambitious and admit both OEMs into the fray. After all, what’s better than four manufacturers in NASCAR? Five manufacturers.

Though this could present a problem of where the existing NASCAR teams and charters will go? Would Honda and/or Dodge be able to find a team that is willing to take a gamble with them?

READ MORE: What Would Honda’s Entry to NASCAR Mean to the Sport?