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NASCAR Showcased Their New Electric Vehicle At The Chicago Street Race & It’s Safe To Say Fans Hated It

Yeah, nobody wants this. NASCAR is in Chicago for the third (and possibly final) annual street course race in the Windy City. The return to Chicago also marks a year since the sport unveiled their new electric vehicle prototype, which was revealed during last year’s event at the street course. Developed in collaboration with the three current manufacturers in NASCAR, Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota, the EV prototype features three STARD UHP 6-Phase motors, and a 78-kWh liquid-cooled battery. The powertrain […] The post NASCAR Showcased Their New Electric Vehicle At The Chicago Street Race & It’s Safe To Say Fans Hated It first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

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NASCAR Showcased Their New Electric Vehicle At The Chicago Street Race & It’s Safe To Say Fans Hated It

Yeah, nobody wants this.

NASCAR is in Chicago for the third (and possibly final) annual street course race in the Windy City.

The return to Chicago also marks a year since the sport unveiled their new electric vehicle prototype, which was revealed during last year’s event at the street course.

Developed in collaboration with the three current manufacturers in NASCAR, Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota, the EV prototype features three STARD UHP 6-Phase motors, and a 78-kWh liquid-cooled battery. The powertrain is capable of producing up to 1,000 kilowatts, which is equivalent to approximately 1,300 horsepower. (For reference, the Cup Series currently runs a 670 hp engine).

The car also features regenerative braking, which converts the energy from the brakes back into power, which NASCAR says makes the car “ideal for road courses and short track ovals.”

In addition to the car, NASCAR also announced a partnership with ABB, an electrification and automation company that has joined as the sport’s first partner in its sustainability effort, NASCAR Impact.

NASCAR has just unveiled its crossover electric vehicle for the first time publicly. No plans for it to race or have an electric series at this time. pic.twitter.com/0bzl2PVR0O
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) July 6, 2024

Obviously the announcement of an electric vehicle had some fans worried (or up in arms) that the sport was moving towards the use of EVs in one their current traveling series, like the Cup Series or Xfinity Series, or in a new all-electric series. But in announcing the car, NASCAR Senior Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer John Probst said it’s more about exploring for the future:

“I’m not sitting here saying we’re going to announce a series. As much as anything, it’s about us exploring what our future could be…

As we learn, we’ll be in the driver’s seat wherever our future takes us.”

NASCAR has set a goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2035, but in addition to electrification, Probst says the series is also exploring more eco-friendly advancements to combustion engines such as hydrogen or other sustainable fuel sources:

“There’s a long, long road ahead for the combustion engine, be it powered from sustainable fuel, or hydrogen, for that matter — that’s something else that we’re very interested in.”

But despite not having any concrete plans for the EV just yet, NASCAR took the opportunity today in Chicago to showcase their new prototype once again. Ahead of the race, NASCAR and two of their manufacturers put their electric car on the track to run a few laps, with David Ragan driving the Ford, Rajah Caruth in the Chevrolet, and 17-year old Brent Crews behind the wheel of the original NASCAR prototype.

And it was…certainly different.

The future?
The EV cars are certainly quieter around @NASCARChicago. Read More