NASCAR's electric future could look like popular crossovers from the three manufacturers: Reports

With the entire automobile industry focusing on EVs, NASCAR is also busy exploring an all-electric future for the premier stock car racing series in America.

With electric crossover vehicles popular in the market, several reports and leaked images suggest that the future Cup Series races might see a Crossover EV from all three current manufacturers - Toyota, Chevrolet, and Ford.

A report from Road and Track suggests that the EV is built on NASCAR's recently introduced next-gen chassis with certain modifications to fit the electric powertrain components. One of the noticeable changes is the huge rear wing on the shortened rear end in place of the spoiler.

All three manufacturers have remained tight-lipped about the EV project. Ford confirmed to R&T the existence of an electric vehicle concept but didn't reveal any details.

"[Ford is] working in partnership with NASCAR and other OEMs on the future generation of cars to compete in the sport that we love, but beyond that, we have nothing more that we can add."

The leaked image bears a resemblance to the Chevy Blazer SS model to be released in 2024, which is a crossover EV, suggesting it could serve as a test car.

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NASCAR COO Steve O'Donnell drops hints about EVs

Ahead of the championship weekend at Phoenix Raceway, NASCAR Chief Operating Officer Steve O'Donnell opened up about the possibility of the stock car series switching to an electric future.

Donnell confirmed in the State of the Sport session that NASCAR's R&D department has been working on an EV concept. He added that the model will be showcased to the fans next season at certain events.

"Yeah, a lot of work's gone on at the R&D department around EV. We have a car. We have an alternative body style with that car. I would not look for us specifically to go racing with it. I think you could see it showcased at certain events next year."

However, Steve O'Donnell suggested that the governing body is looking at alternative sources as well. He confirmed that a contingent is heading to Japan following the championship weekend to learn more about hydrogen racing.

"But there's other forms that we want to look at. I'm actually headed to Japan Thursday to go look at hydrogen racing specifically. We've got a contingent heading over to Japan to look at that. We want to kind of test each and every form."

"Really excited about what our teams put together around an electric car. Again, wanted to showcase that to the fans and explore other technologies, as well."

NASCAR has been synonymous with the blaring V8s throughout its existence. The radical changes will be a major test for the sport, as it is hard to sway old-school audiences towards electric racing.