NASCAR’s Future Crossover Series: The SUVs and EVs We Want to See Race

For all of NASCAR’s ballyhoo about tradition, like any modern-day motorsports operation, it’s become one that requires massive engineering efforts and multimillion-dollar investments in research and development to even sniff a qualifying spot at its highest level. But there’s one stock car cliché that still holds firm today: The automakers that participate in its circle-heavy spectacle are truly only there to win on Sunday, sell on Monday.

The power of NASCAR as a promotional tool may have waned in recent years as the popularity of the top-level Cup Series has stumbled some, but it’s still the premier American racing series in terms of television viewership and in-person attendance. How those eyeballs translate into dollars when the on-track machinery is completely disconnected from the bestselling models at actual dealerships, however, is less certain.

SUVs have taken over the streets, but they’ve yet to make a dent in NASCAR, where the marquee series still bears the names Mustang, Camry, and Camaro—all cars, the latter of which is a model that left the market years ago. The divergence between the vehicles that NASCAR’s participating automakers badge for competition and what Americans are parking in their own driveways continues to widen with each passing year, as sport utility vehicles show no signs of slowing their dominance over nearly every other type of automobile.

Over the past two years, the sport’s brain trust has made a genuine effort to investigate incorporating SUVs into NASCAR events as more than just support vehicles for VIPs. That initiative has been intertwined with the development of an electric platform for potential use in the O’Reilly Auto Parts series, which is the next step down from primo Cup action. The crossover body shapes have already been designed and tested in partnership with high-tech engineering giant ABB.

When pressed by traditionalist fans in an uproar over the potential encroachment of both SUVs and EVs into NASCAR’s hydrocarbon-rich contests, NASCAR officials have been measured in their comments. This isn’t the first time that the organization has ruffled feathers by considering a dramatic break with the past—witness the controversy during the ’90s when the Craftsman Truck series was launched to harness the popularity of pickups. Adding crossovers to the O’Reilly Auto Parts events is positioned as something similar that could give it a more distinct identity versus Cup racing.

“Long term … you’d have a truck, a CUV, and a Cup [series]. That’s three very different bodies that are relevant for our OEMs today,” NASCAR Executive Vice President John Probst told the media when asked about the development program. This was followed by a statement from Mike Forde, NASCAR’s managing director of racing communications: “If you look at the production car landscape, sedans aren’t what they used to be, and CUVs are the hot thing right now. So that’s just something that we need to be ready for in case there are no sedans in 10 years.”

Regardless of the timetable, it seems clear that crossovers are on the horizon for NASCAR, which got us thinking about what models would be the best choice for each of the sport’s current roster of automakers—and which fresh faces the decision to race crossovers on Sunday and sell SUVs on Monday might attract.

Here are our top picks for entries in what we’re dubbing the NASCAR Crossover Series, leaning toward EV models but with some gas-powered options, as well.

Chevy’s crossover cupboard is well-stocked with NASCAR-friendly options. In fact, one single nameplate—Blazer—could pull double-duty regardless of whether the CUV series goes for battery- or gas-powered designs.

The Blazer EV’s dual-motor design pushes out 615 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque when found in SS trim, numbers that are in keeping with what one would expect from a race-ready model. Of course, like nearly every other crossover on this list, it faces down the prospect of having to make do with RWD to satisfy race stewards—which could mean a unique Blazer EV ZL1 springing forth from the minds of canny product planners.

The gas-edition Blazer is a little less stellar out of the box, and its FWD/AWD platform suggests a move to a silhouette-type racer with a more traditional V-8 drivetrain feeding the rear wheels through a spec racing chassis. If NASCAR truly wants to differentiate O’Reilly, however, and doesn’t want to go full EV, there’s no reason a turbocharged V-6 couldn’t find its way into the mix. It wouldn’t be the first time six-cylinder engines have mixed it up on the NASCAR circuit. Back when O’Reilly was known as the Busch series, V-6 engines were very much available to competing teams as an alternative to eight-cylinder power.

The Blue Oval boasts the most obvious answer to the crossover utility vehicle racing question, especially if we’re talking about electrified platforms. With the Ford Mustang Mach-E, it wouldn’t even have to make many changes on the branding side of the equation, as Ford could simply repurpose the PR effort that currently goes in to promoting the gas-powered Mustang in Cup Series competition.

The truly interesting aspect of the Mach-E’s entry into NASCAR would be the potential for a homologation special. Currently, the Mach-E GT and Rally trims sit at the top of the power pantheon, offering 480 horses each and up to 700 lb-ft of torque. Those are big numbers, but they are predicated on the use of a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive setup. NASCAR has yet to run anything other than rear-wheel-drive layouts in its entire history, which means there could be room for a unique high-horsepower, RWD model in showrooms should the rulebook dictate.

From a gas-powered perspective, the Bronco Sport seems like a model Ford would be interested in promoting, which would help it boost the overall Bronco brand. It isn’t very aerodynamic, and it doesn’t presently have a V-6 option, but those seem like hurdles that could be overcome.

Toyota is a relative latecomer to producing competitive electric SUVs, which means there are really only a pair of potential crossovers that would fit (or perhaps more accurately, break) the NASCAR mold. Both the Toyota bZ and the Toyota C-HR make use of the same all-wheel-drive electric drivetrain that produces 338 total system horsepower. There’s also the bZ Woodland, a 375-horsepower offering, but it’s a bit too large to truly come across as a sporty option within a racing context.

Homologated rear-wheel-drive versions of the above aside, Toyota would likely lean on the perennial favorite RAV4 if the series went in a fossil fuels direction. The 4Runner is just too burly, and the Corolla Cross doesn’t have the profit margins the brand would like to take advantage of should the concept truly take off with fans.

Ram is back in the Truck series, but Dodge has been absent from Cup Series competition since 2012. Given that it plans to eventually make its return there, too, would there be enough money to spread around to a third racing project?

If that were the case, there’s really only one possibility, the coming GLH crossover that Dodge has teased as part of its future plans. It looks to be the right size and should have the proper attitude (Goes Like Hell) for a racing series if gas power is where things will go. (Note: A Dodge Hornet is pictured, the GLH would presumably be similar in dimensions)

On the EV side of the equation, Dodge strikes out. There simply aren’t any credible EV SUV platforms in the pipeline that Stellantis could realistically push onto the starting grid. Like so many other aspects of the brand’s current strategy, they’ll have to hope NASCAR bets big on internal combustion.

Hyundai feels like a brand that’s been circling North American motorsports for nearly a decade, looking for the right moment to enter the fray. In our opinion, there’s no venue better suited to show off the company’s engineering expertise than a crossover EV series, where it could easily field its N-badged edition of the Ioniq 5.

The combination of an electrified performance division like N as well as the unmistakable profile of the Ioniq 5 hauler virtually guarantees a high profile for Hyundai in this kind of motorsport. With 641 horsepower and 568 lb-ft of torque on tap, the N is serious business on the street, but would Hyundai consider building a version of the vehicle that channels similar output to the rear wheels only if NASCAR banned AWD from pit lane?

It would be fascinating to see what kind of aero Hyundai would graft onto a hyper-powerful, RWD Ioniq 5 N to keep it glued to the tarmac, with the brand’s flair for the dramatic potentially reviving the specter of the famed winged cars of the early 1970s. If NASCAR does move to gas power, Hyundai has several crossovers that it could explore using if it wanted to enter the fray.

Honda’s love for open-wheel racing is no secret, but it’s managed to avoid any kind of NASCAR association, despite rival Toyota’s deep connections to the sport. Prior to this past spring it would have seemed like a logical leap for Honda to dive into an EV SUV racing series, given its first forays into building its own battery-powered vehicles, but the recent decision to shutter its entire electric vehicle development program means we’ll likely never get the pleasure of seeing the famed H badge in Bristol’s victory lane.

Forget pulling in a Prologue for temporary racing duty, either, given that the model’s discontinuation means there’s no EV to direct customers on the lot the following day. This means that if Honda has a hope of entering NASCAR’s CUV series, it will have to pray to the same gas-powered gods as Dodge. If that were to happen, bet on a CR-V look-alike in fiberglass form.