“Driving a race car is like dancing with a chainsaw.” Those are the words Cale Yarborough once used to describe the feeling of driving a race car. After all, with a high-power engine and a machine that can push upwards of 200 mph, NASCAR is not a sport for the faint-hearted. As another year of high-speed racing comes to a wrap, there is a massive update NASCAR has. At the Phoenix Raceway, NASCAR introduced a electric version of the Next-Gen car.

Although the innovative approach is one of its kind, it seems as though the fans have not quite taken it in the right way. Motorsports, with its roaring engines and high-octane fuel, has often seemed at odds with eco-friendly trends. However, this shift in the traditional NASCAR engine and the roaring audio heart-thumping experience has aggravated fans for sure. 

NASCAR had been making attempts to shift to a greener approach. In this effort, they collaborated with none other than ABB, a global leader. It comes to the world of electrification and has great experience in the field as well. It has become the first official partner with NASCAR to strengthen the attempts for electrification and make a difference with sustainable efforts. The prototype which was released at the Chicago Street Race is now in full swing and was unveiled at none other than the Phoenix Raceway.

The ultimate aim of this venture was to ensure that the carbon footprint emitted from traditional NASCAR engines could be replaced with a greener approach. The collaboration between NASCAR and ABB holds a lot of potential and given the kind of hold the latter has, it could be indeed a greener step forward. The ABB NASCAR EV prototype is the first of its kind and the latest piece of innovation from the house of NASCAR Research & Development Center.

This has the potential to replace the Next Gen Cars with a modernized version of the stock cars. The development of the new model took place after collaboration with the existing engine manufacturers for NASCAR – Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota. After the car was unveiled at the Phoenix Raceway, it was taken for a first spin around the 1-mile tracks by David Ragan. 

This high-performance electric stock car is powered by three STARD UHP 6-phase motors. While there is one at the front and two at the back, it does give power to all four specially crafted Goodyear Racing Eagle tires. A 78-kWh battery kept cool with liquid, drives the system. This lets the car reach up to 1,000 kW of peak power. It also has regenerative braking. This means it can turn braking energy into extra power. It makes the car well-suited for road courses and short oval tracks.

While it has the potential to spawn a second stock-car series specifically for the electric segment, fans aren’t happy with the electric prototype.

NASCAR’s new announcement does not render expected reactions

Reacting to this extraordinary piece of craft and future goals that NASCAR envisions, Eric Nyquist the NASCAR Senior Vice President and Chief Impact Officer said, “ABB is an industry leader and will help in efforts to decarbonize our operations as we pursue achieving net-zero operating emissions over the next decade”. With NASCAR Impact being a project that focuses on fostering sustainability across various environments, one can expect only more from this collaboration. 

However, fans did not find this initiative quite amusing. This could be primarily because of the shift in the traditional engine sound which evokes a sense of nostalgia for all the fans. Given that most of the motorsport ventures already moved ahead in terms of the electric vehicle venture, a fan mentioned, “It’s funny how NASCAR announced an EV Next Gen concept the same year the majority of the auto industry decided to give up on EVs and shift focus on Hybridization.” This came as a reaction after this year, Formula One enhanced hybrid models. Fans may think taking the route F1 took, keeping a hybrid system, maybe a better fit for NASCAR as well. 

As these are driven by electricity, there is a subsided tone to the cars as well which takes away the traditional delight. The screeching sound of the car could be a major deterrent and has the potential to ruin the experience. The heart of NASCAR always has been about the cars and their engines. Nothing packs a punch like a V8. Similar to the change F1 brought when it came to the electric cars, losing out on the raw sounds of the engines roaring around the track will be a big loss to the sport. Mentioning this a fan remarked, “Ik it wouldn’t be nearly as loud but I am interested in how a pack of these would sound at Daytona. Don’t go electric though”.

The concept of electric cars and the future it holds, particularly in the field of motorsports, looks bleak to a lot of people. At its heart, the NASCAR series came to life when bootleggers began using Ford’s V-8 engines. A jump to an electric car could be seen as losing the core of what birthed NSACAR. Pointing out this uncertainty, a fan mentioned, “That will be the death of NASCAR”. Some fans even think that this shift from the regular engines to the electric versions will take away the spirit of NASCAR as a sport. Citing this one fan mentioned, “If they go electric imma quit watching fr istg”.

However, this is not all. The entire project looks at billions of dollars as an investment. Given that NASCAR is already in a battle with teams over revenue sharing, some fans find this investment amusing. Taking account into the financial discrepancy, a fan mentioned, “Instead of paying teams a justifiable portion of revenue this is what the money is spent on 🤡”.  Another fan made a bold decision that this shift is not needed at all. The fan said,“Thanks I Hate It”. Although the efforts of opting in for a more sustainable approach can be commendable it seems as though fans are just not ready to embrace the same.