NASCAR Might Run An EV Racecar in 2023, SUVs Too

Yes, we all know that hardcore, over 65 crowd of NASCAR fans are going to hate hearing this. Even so, the push by the OEMs to produce electric powered vehicles like the Ford Mustang Mach-E is starting to hit home with America's premier racing series. While the new Generation Seven NASCAR Cup car is intended to be modular and able to accept any type of powertrain, a leaked document is showing that NASCAR wants to begin its electrification era as soon as the 2023 Busch Light Clash. Also, if that leaked document is to be believed, could the Mustang Mach-E, 2024 Chevrolet Blazer SS, and 2023 Toyota bZ4X bodies replace the NASCAR Ford Mustang GT, Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, and Toyota Camry TRD bodies the Gen 7 currently uses?

An article by Kickin' The Tires on July 21 revealed a set of images from a leaked document that shows that NASCAR wants the Gen Seven car to go electric for the 2023 Busch Light Clash at the LA Coliseum and do a series of six exhibition races with the all-electric conversion in the same year. The one for the Bush Light Clash would end up as the demonstration prototype with a launch target of "Q3, 2023" for the exhibition series version. The overall goal of these exhibitions is to get fans interested in EV NASCAR racecars and to also learn the best path forward to push out an all-electric "National Series for 2025."

It's Gotta Be As Fast As ICE

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There are targets these EV Gen Seven cars would have to hit: lap times equal to the current ICE Cup car and be able to run a 30 minute race with no battery swaps or even charging (at least for this first phase). Pit stops for these exhibitions will only be for tires or fixing mechanical/crash damage and there will be 12 Gen Seven EVs during these exhibitions, meaning there would be about three or four cars from Ford, Chevrolet, and Toyota. An exhibition—again, if the leaked document is to be believed—would occur over six weekends that align with NASCAR Cup series events and there would be two races per weekend, one on Saturday and one on Sunday.

To meet these targets, the Gen Seven cars would need to be modified to fit the powertrain and batteries, but the suspension and brakes would remain the same. That's part of the beauty of the Gen Seven car as it's modular enough that a conversion would be as simple as removing the ICE front and rear clips and installing the EV versions. The proposal states that there would be three motors and all four wheels would be driven. Again, much like the EV eventuality, the idea that Gen Seven cars would allow for the front wheels to be driven is baked into the design to make it "future-proof." In fact, the front and rear uprights are interchangeable for the sake of simplicity and repair. To achieve the lap time parity of the ICE version of the Cup car, all three motors combined would produce more than 1,000 hp and the 900 volt battery pack would allow the motors to produce 200 kW of regenerative braking. According to this leaked document, this is just phase one.

The Speed of Sound, The Assurance of Safety

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There are issues that NASCAR does want to address with going all-electric with the Gen Seven car. One is finding what the best practices are for safety and they will look towards other all-electric series like Formula E, ERC, and others but then modify those to fit within the standards of NASCAR. The other is sound and NASCAR wants these EV racecars to produce something and that's also not an unusual request. In Formula E, each manufacturer has a different sound that is produced by the running gear and motor. A Nissan e.dams car doesn't sound like the Tag Heuer Porsche car. This is one of the ideas the NASCAR is open to along with just allowing the natural sound of the powertrain and drivetrain to emanate through.

Mach-E, Not GT

However, the biggest shock (no pun) within the document is what the Gen Seven car would look like as an EV. While it's in the hands of the OEMs, there is the possibility that these cars would look like the EVs these manufacturers are producing rather than the Camaro, Mustang, and Camry they do right now with ICE power. For the first time, NASCAR is considering allowing manufacturers to consider making SUV and crossover bodies, as those are the current EV bodies from Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota.

It's kind of interesting, but again not unusual considering the Camping World Truck Series exists. The chassis of the Truck Series is different, even between the old Gen Six and the current Xfinity car, but the overall design and layout is very similar. The trucks are a bit wider, taller, and longer, however. We suspect the issue would just be timing on the part of OE acceptance, but with these Gen Seven bodies being all composite and 3D modeling and printing becoming common for quick prototyping, even in NASCAR, those bodies could be made in time for a late 2023 debut. Again, if the leaked document is accurate.

Take It With A Grain of Salt, but Don't Deny It, Either

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That's why we also reached out to Chevrolet—who is working with Hendrick Motorsports, Goodyear, and NASCAR to take a Gen Seven to Le Mans—NASCAR, and Ford to see if these documents were true. The OEMs didn't want to comment, but NASCAR gave us this response, "As we have mentioned in the past, we are exploring the potential for an EV demonstration series. We are currently working with our OEM partners and race teams as the program progresses."

While not a "no," it does show that NASCAR really wants to make an EV series using the Gen Seven car. However, they aren't committing to saying that it will happen by 2023's Busch Light Clash or that season at all. Still, for EV enthusiasts, this would be a huge shot in the arm in an already popular market. You just have to wonder how long it would be before we see a Tesla competing alongside the likes of Ford, Chevrolet, and Toyota at the Daytona International Speedway at over 200 mph.