“Nobody asked for this”: Fans react after new NASCAR EV update surfaces online

NASCAR unveiled a battery-powered prototype at the Chicago street race in July 2024. The goal was simple: decarbonizing the sport and achieving zero emissions by 2035. However, there have been mixed opinions on the usher of EVs in the sport.

As per a recent X post by NASCAR on Reddit, the Original Equipment Manufacturers are already developing designs and submitting them to NASCAR. It has also been reported that Chevrolet is working on building a new body for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Here is what NASCAR on Reddit wrote:

"Apparently the new EV car is far enough along in development that manufacturers are making and submitting body designs to NASCAR. The 2026 Chevy Cup body is well on its way also.”

Several fans reacted to this, with one saying that nobody had asked for this upgrade.

“Nobody asked for this,” the fan wrote.

Another fan responded sarcastically by saying,

“Can't wait for pit stops to go from 9 seconds to 30 minutes!”

Here are a few other reactions to the news:

“I bet nascar gets another manufacturer for EV years before they would get one for regular nascar. RIP nascar 1949-2024,” a fan commented.

“So I guess we’ll get EV before we get a car that doesn’t have to go on the hook when it gets a flat,” added another.

“we don’t want EV’s we want hybrids,” someone wrote.”

The new electric prototype, known to produce about 1000 kilowatts of power at its peak (equivalent to approximately 1300 HP) was the result of a collaboration between NASCAR, the OEMs, and ABB, a global technology leader in electrification and automation.

However, when NASCAR driver David Ragan, who last competed part-time in the Cup Series for RFK Racing, took the newly built $1.5 million machine for a test drive at Martinsville Speedway, the car didn’t deliver that well. After making several laps around the half-mile Virginian racetrack, Ragan said that his lap time in the EV was “two-tenths of a second slower” than in a normal, gas-powered stock car.

“The push for electric vehicles is continuing to grow”-NASCAR Senior Engineer illuminates reason behind building EVs for NASCAR

The EVs were not meant to top the gasoline-powered cars just in terms of speed, as they are also heavier and, needless to say, would slow down in the turns. But, the plan was to build a car that would be more environmentally friendly than vehicles running on Internal Combustion Engines (ICE).

According to a study by the International Energy Agency and the US Environmental Protection Agency,

“An EV can emit about a quarter the carbon dioxide as its gas-powered counterpart.”

C.J. Tobin, Senior Engineer of Vehicle Systems at NASCAR, said in an interview with IEEE Spectrum,

“The push for electric vehicles is continuing to grow, and when we started this project one and a half years ago, that growth was rapid. We wanted to showcase our ability to put an electric stock car on the track in collaboration with our OEM partners. Our racing series have always been a platform for OEMs to showcase their stock cars, and this is just another tool for them to demonstrate what they can offer to the public.”

Still, NASCAR clarified that the sport would not be switching to electronic cars anytime soon. Unlike Formula One, which launched Formula E, an all-electric series, NASCAR is not planning on having a new series for these cars. However, the goal of reducing emissions remains unchanged.