CHICAGO (AP) — Part of the experience of a NASCAR race is hearing the roar of the engine, the rumble of each car’s approach and the chain as it whizzes past at more than 150 mph.
NASCAR unveiled its first electric race car Saturday in downtown Chicago, but it doesn’t rumble when the grand marshal says “drivers, start your engines.”
She hums.
North America’s top motorsports series teamed up with Chevrolet, Ford, Toyota and electrification company ABB to demonstrate a high-performance electric vehicle and fan interest in electric racing.
They want to represent electric vehicles, and more broadly electrification, in racing as cool, fun and accessible, said Riley Nelson, head of sustainability at NASCAR.
The Associated Press got a first look at the $1.5 million prototype. The only person to have driven it so far is semi-retired NASCAR driver David Ragan. The plan is to put the car on the Chicago road for some quick laps on Sunday morning.
Ragan said the sound and smell were unlike anything he’s experienced since he first hit the track at age 11. He could hear the tires screeching. He could smell the brakes. In gasoline cars, the noise and smell of the engine and the heat from the exhaust overpower everything else. But after hundreds of laps, this time Ragan’s ears weren’t ringing. It was really wild, he said.
Unlike typical sports coupes, the new car is actually a shared vehicle. A large wing at the back makes it aerodynamic enough to be a racing car.
It accelerates almost twice as fast as the best gas racing cars and can stop almost instantly. But its lap time at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia was two-tenths of a second slower because it turns corners more slowly because it’s heavier. Ragan said it can go even faster; he wasn’t pushing the particular vehicle to its limits. Risk-taking is for racing, not testing, he said.
Eric Warren, who heads global motorsports competition for General Motors, said market research showed that more than half of NASCAR fans surveyed would be more interested in buying an electric vehicle if were exposed to it through competitions. The main message is to be careful with energy and optimize it, he said.
“We are committed to electric vehicles,” Warren said. “Racing provides a great platform to discuss many of those concepts and educate the fans. It’s a lab for us to try out some new technologies and learn while we educate.”
Burning the gas pollutes the air and produces carbon dioxide, which warms the atmosphere and leads to more extreme weather. Burning one gallon produces about 19 pounds of carbon dioxide, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Racing events consume thousands of liters in a weekend.
The event would certainly be quieter with more electric cars, although many fans love the roar of the engines when the green flag drops.
A group of children, including the children of ABB employees, removed the hood from the car as part of the unveiling before Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series stoppage. Dean Radejewski, 16, of Chicago, stopped to look at the car as it drove through the area near Buckingham Fountain.
“I think it’s great that they’re entering the newest era where everything is going electric,” Radejewski said. “I think it will probably be a little more reliable, maybe a little safer, too, since less fuel to fuel the fire.”
Radejewski also was intrigued by the possibility of a NASCAR EV series.
“It would be more of a race to watch,” he said. “So even better.”
If NASCAR pursues electric racing, John Probst, NASCAR’s senior vice president and chief racing development officer, said he thinks they could reinvent the fan experience. An option could be a DJ.
“It’s our goal to entertain our fans,” he said. “If our fans tell us that’s what they want to see, we know how to create a series of races around anything.”
NASCAR is not the first motorsports organization to enter electric car racing. Formula E is an all-electric racing series that started a decade ago. But its fan base is much smaller than NASCAR’s.
The new car is part of a broader sustainability plan by NASCAR. ABB is now NASCAR’s official electrification partner. It will help NASCAR bring more electricity from renewable sources.
NASCAR also owns 15 tracks across the US, many along major roads. ABB plans to install its electric vehicle charging stations on those tracks and connect them to the grid. They will be compatible with mainstream electric cars and available for anyone to use, not just racers.
By 2028, NASCAR says it will introduce sustainable racing fuel, recycle at all events and use 100% renewable electricity at its facilities and tracks. By 2035, it aims to reduce operating emissions to “net zero”.
That’s why the number 35 appears on the black and white car, along with ABB. The body of the car is made of plant-based materials, a flax-based composite from the Swiss company Bcomp, instead of the typical carbon fiber composite.
NASCAR is also exploring racing with hydrogen-powered cars. IMSA, the sports car series owned by NASCAR, switched to hybrid engines in 2023. A competitive racing series, IndyCar, will debuted its hybrid engines this weekend in Ohio. Formula 1 plans to use sustainable fuel in all cars from 2026 as part of new engine regulations.
Ford Performance, alone, built eight high-end electric demonstrator vehicles in four years.
“Fans want to have a connection or a relationship with the race car,” said Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Performance Motorsports. “As more and more customers are buying all-electric vehicles, we believe there will be an increasing number of people who want to watch all-electric racing.”
Overall electric vehicle sales in the US rose 7% during the first half of the year, according to preliminary data on Tuesday from Motorintelligence.com. EVs accounted for 7.6% of the US new vehicle market, about the same as for all of last year.
ABB Executive Vice President Michael Plaster hopes that kids who see the new car at NASCAR events will ask questions about moving toward a future that runs on clean electricity and may one day want to work in electrical products and solutions. ABB is investing billions to grow its business in the US.
“In terms of getting interest and attention, and having the forum to talk about this whole energy transition, I can’t think of a better way to do it,” Plaster said.
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McDermott reported from Providence, RI AP Auto Racing Writer Jenna Fryer contributed to this report.
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