NASCAR introduced its EV prototype race car back in July during the race weekend in Chicago. The vehicle was developed in partnership with the electrification and automation company ABB and serves as a symbol of NASCAR’s intent to achieve a reduced carbon emission footprint over the coming years. The car is nothing short of a beast with 1,000 kW of peak power under its hood.
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As things stand, former Cup Series regular David Ragan is the one who has spent the most time behind the car’s wheel and is the best person to tell the world what it is like. He is currently accompanying the car to different cities across the country for events and spoke about it in detail during Climate Week in New York City. His words have left everyone wanting more of the car.
He said, “The power that this car has and the capability to stop on a dime. It’s like nothing I’ve ever driven before. I got to fly in an F-16 one time with the Thunderbirds and that’s the only thing that’s as close as this car.” The high words of praise make sense when one understands that 1,000 kW translates to 1,341 HP. Imagine a Next Gen car driving around Talladega with that kind of power.
He continued, “The technology that we have on this car is really one of a kind. The NASCAR engineers, they outsourced a lot of outlets all over the world to bring in the most current electronification technology to build the battery and to assemble the powertrain.” All this said, the question is when can an EV be seen racing in NASCAR? Ragan provided an update on where things stand on that front.
What’s next for the NASCAR EV prototype?
The car has already been tested on a couple of race tracks and the lap times have been similar to those of the Next Gen car. But the EV is far more capable than this. Ragan said, “I think once we continue to work with Goodyear… Work on some setups, there’s still a lot more speed, a lot more handling.”
Just one prototype has been manufactured so far. The driver believes that he will get to push this one a lot harder once two or more cars have been churned out from the factory. He added, “I think NASCAR and ABB are certainly looking into the future. I think that was the whole idea behind this car.”
It might be a while but it is happening for sure. A NASCAR-sanctioned electric racing series is in the making and optimism about its viability has never been higher than now. It might take some getting used to but change has been the way of this sport for a long time and it is how it will survive the future.
