NASCAR Goes Electric, Teases New EV Prototype: What It Means For Racing League's Future

A leading motorsports league is among the sectors looking at the potential to diversify with electric vehicles.

Here's the latest on a new project from NASCAR.

What Happened: The NASCAR racing league unveiled a new electric vehicle prototype and launched an electrification innovation partnership last week.

The partnership comes with ABB ABBNY, a leader in electrical equipment and automation. The company and NASCAR unveiled the prototype at the Chicago Street Race.

ABB is the first official partner of NASCAR Impact, a platform from NASCAR striving to contribute to a healthier planet and working on sustainability ambitions across electrification for the racing league.

"The objective of the collaboration between NASCAR, ABB in the United States and the NASCAR industry is to push the boundaries of electrification technology, from EV racing to long-haul transportation to facility operations," ABB Executive Vice President Ralph Donati said.

The ABB NASCAR EV Prototype was built in collaboration with league OEM partners General Motors GM, Ford Motor Company F and Toyota Motor Corporation TM. The electric vehicle has a powertrain that offers 1,000 kW, or 1,341 hp of power.

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What's Next: NASCAR race fans won't see electric vehicles competing on the racetracks for a championship anytime soon, but it could be something the league considers for the future.

"While NASCAR is committed to the historic role of the combustion engine in racing, it is also committed to decarbonizing its operations and reducing its own carbon footprint to zero across its core operations by 2035 through electrification and innovative solutions," the company said.

The racing league has a goal of net-zero operating emissions by 2035.

NASCAR said ABB will play a key role in the league's electrification efforts going forward with guidance, equipment and support.

One option to expand NASCAR's electric vehicle ambitions could be to create a separate racing league with EVs. Formula E, which is sponsored by ABB, launched in 2014 and is an electric vehicle racing league similar to Formula 1, which is a unit of Liberty Formula One FWONA.

Formula E is growing in popularity and signed a media rights deal with Roku Inc ROKU.

Liberty Global recently purchased a 65% stake in Formula E and could be looking to take advantage of growth in both Formula 1 and Formula E and realize synergies between the two racing leagues.

Is NASCAR’s future electric? Time will tell for the league and its fans.

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Photo courtesy of NASCAR.