Electric vehicles will return to the racetrack when NASCAR heads to Chicago this year. On the morning of the street course race, the EV prototypes that NASCAR developed in partnership with ABB last year will run laps for about 20 minutes. NASCAR has termed these runs “exhibition track laps.”
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This development has led many insiders and fans to speculate whether the promotion is planning to introduce an all-electric racing series that could replace the Cup Series someday. The 2023 Cup Series champion, Ryan Blaney, was asked about this in a recent interview. His answer came as a much-needed reassurance for many fans.
Blaney said, “Let me put everyone at ease. It’s not going to replace the Cup Series, like you said. It’s not going to do that. At least not in my lifetime.” Blaney confirmed he’s seen the EVs up close in the shop and admitted that he’d like to drive one of them to experience what it felt like.
“I think they’re unique,” he continued. “They’re neat. I don’t see a downside. Like, who cares that each manufacturer has one? It’s something that they can kind of show off and throw out there. They’re trying to balance the electric and gas-powered vehicles. You have to balance that out. So, I get their desire to want to have a race car. A Cup [Series] car like that.”
On morning of Chicago street race, electric NASCAR vehicles will do laps at the same time (for about 20 minutes). David Ragan in the Ford, Rajah Caruth in the Chevy and Brent Crews in the original NASCAR-built car (not Toyota-specific). NASCAR terming it “exhibition track laps”
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) June 18, 2025
Will NASCAR introduce an EV-specific series?
NASCAR has been particular about testing the limits of an EV prototype rather than creating an entire racing series just yet. NASCAR COO Steve O’Donnell expressed ambitious goals about the future of electric vehicles in NASCAR when asked about it in 2024.
He said, “What I’m most proud of and we’re all proud of with our R&D group is that they’ve been able to showcase new technologies. Maybe not necessarily race it in a series, but showcase what we can do and if we ultimately went out and created a series, we’re more than capable of doing that.”
Showcasing the EVs has been more about demonstrating NASCAR’s capabilities than signaling the arrival of an electric racing series. The upcoming exhibition track laps will be about the same.
