NASCAR recently became the latest motorsports organization to dip its toes into the electrification waters—a move that could help fuel awareness of and interest in EVs among its massive fan base.
The sanctioning body for stock-car racing in North America last month unveiled an electric prototype in partnership with ABB. NASCAR demonstrated the vehicle at the Chicago Street Race and announced that ABB would be its partner on its sustainability initiatives, including efforts to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2035.
“The objective of the collaboration between NASCAR, ABB in the United States, and the NASCAR industry is to push the boundaries of electrification technology, from EV racing to long-haul transportation to facility operations,” ABB EVP Ralph Donati said in a statement.
At the same time, NASCAR reiterated its commitment “to the historic role of the combustion engine in racing.”
The introduction of the electric prototype may be an opportunity to help educate the masses about the benefits of electrification, from lower maintenance costs to EVs’ ability to act as backup power sources.
“There [are] a series of benefits of electric vehicles that can be introduced and communicated through this venue,” Eleftheria Kontou, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, told Tech Brew.
“Every consumer segment will make a decision on the transition depending on their situation,” she added. “Having some knowledge and understanding of these machines can make a difference.”
NASCAR isn’t the only racing series experimenting with electrification. IndyCar debuted hybrid engines in July at a race in Ohio, the Associated Press reported. The hybrid unit was developed via a collaboration between Chevrolet and Honda engineers. Formula 1 debuted an electric racing series—Formula E—a decade ago, and in 2026 plans to start using sustainable fuel in all its vehicles.
Motorsports’ forays into electrification come as EV sales are on the rise, albeit as the market goes through a rough patch due in part to consumer concerns about various aspects of the electric experience. In the US, EVs and hybrids accounted for 16% of the market last year, per the US Energy Information Administration.
NASCAR’s prototype was developed with input from its automaker partners: Ford, Chevy, and Toyota. The motorsports organization’s in-house research and development team built the vehicle.
The crossover utility vehicle’s 78-kilowatt-hour battery powers three electric motors, which in turn send energy to the tires. NASCAR noted that the vehicle has regenerative braking capabilities, which “converts kinetic energy into power, making the car ideal for road courses and short oval tracks.”
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But, as Wired noted, regenerative braking may not come in handy on some race tracks where drivers continuously keep their foot on the accelerator. Experts said that the street race was likely selected as a better fit to demonstrate the prototype’s capabilities. During testing, the vehicle was two-tenths of a second slower than the other vehicles due to the battery weight, the AP reported.
Not only can the battery weight slow the vehicle down, Kontou explained, but range limitations also dim the prospects of an EV racing in a series like the Daytona 500, at least with today’s technology. The prototype’s battery would likely deliver about 300 miles of range, she noted.
“Right-sizing the whole EV machine for such racing is tricky,” she said. “But as a prototype, it’s quite exciting and very promising.”
EVs do carry some benefits for racing; NASCAR’s prototype delivers 1,300 horsepower, accelerating about twice as fast as its counterparts with internal combustion engines, according to Wired.
And advancements in battery technology have already enabled progress on the racetrack, the Washington Post reported. During previous Formula E races, drivers had to switch cars during races because of limited battery range, but not anymore.
The prototype cost $1.5 million to develop and build, the AP reported. General Motors’ head of global motorsports competition told the outlet that market research suggested that more than half of “avid” NASCAR fans would be interested in buying an EV if they learned about it via racing.
“NASCAR fans tend to be looking for the noise that these engines make, the smell of gas,” Kontou said. “But the alternative, the electric vehicle prototype, can be something new and exciting in terms of the technology and the engineering.”
Still, it remains to be seen how electrification fits within the stock-car competition’s long-term plans. In unveiling the prototype, NASCAR made it clear that it has no immediate plans to introduce an all-electric racing series.
“There’s a long, long road ahead for the combustion engine, be it powered from sustainable fuel or hydrogen, for that matter,” John Probst, NASCAR SVP and chief racing development officer, said in a blog post on the organization’s website. “That’s something else that we’re very interested in. But then there’s obviously also the electrification side of that, be it hybrid (or otherwise).”