CHICAGO — Part of the experience of a NASCAR race is hearing the roar of the engines, the roar of each car as it approaches and the rush of cars as they whiz by at speeds of more than 150 miles per hour.
NASCAR unveiled its first electric race car in downtown Chicago on Saturday, but the car didn’t roar to life when the grand marshal said, “Drivers, start your engines.”
There is a humming sound.
North America’s top motorsports series has partnered with Chevrolet, Ford, Toyota and electrification company ABB to showcase high-performance electric vehicles and gauge fan interest in electric car racing.
NASCAR sustainability chief Riley Nelson said the organization wants to portray electric cars in racing, and electrification more broadly, as cool, fun and accessible.
The Associated Press got a first look at the $1.5 million prototype, which has only been driven so far by semi-retired NASCAR driver David Ragan.
The plan is to do a few high-speed laps on the Chicago street course on Sunday morning.
Ragan said the sounds and smells were unlike anything he’d experienced since his first time on a race track at age 11. He could hear the tires squealing and smell the brakes.
In a petrol car, the sound and smell of the engine and the heat of the exhaust drown out everything else. But after hundreds of laps, Ragan’s ears weren’t ringing this time. It was wild, he said.
Unlike a typical sports coupe, this new car is actually a crossover utility vehicle, with a huge wing at the back that gives it aerodynamics comparable to those of a race car.
The car could accelerate nearly twice as fast as the top gasoline-powered race cars and stop almost instantly, but its extra weight made it slower through corners, slowing its lap time by 0.2 seconds at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia.
Ragan said the car could go even faster, but he’s not pushing the unique car to its limits – he said he takes risks for racing, not for testing.
Eric Warren, General Motors’ head of global motorsports competition, said market research found that more than half of avid NASCAR fans surveyed would be more interested in buying an electric car if they were exposed to one through a race.
The main message is to pay attention to and optimize your energy, he said.
“We’re focused on electric vehicles,” Warren said, “and racing is a great platform to discuss many of those concepts and educate our fans. For us, it’s a laboratory to try out new technologies and learn as we educate.”
Burning gas pollutes the air and produces carbon dioxide, which warms the atmosphere and causes more extreme weather.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, burning one gallon produces about 19 pounds of carbon dioxide, and racing events can consume thousands of gallons over the course of a weekend.
While the inclusion of more electric cars would certainly make the event quieter, many fans still prefer the roar of engines when the green flag drops.
A group of kids, including some of ABB’s employees’ children, removed the cover from the car as part of the presentation before Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race.
Dean Radjewski, 16, of Chicago, was driving near Buckingham Fountain when he stopped his car to take a look.
“I think it’s great that we’re entering a new era of everything being electric,” Radzewski said. “It’s going to be a little more reliable, a little more safe because it’s going to use less fuel.”
Radjewski was also intrigued by the possibility of a NASCAR EV series.
“It’ll make the races more enjoyable to watch,” he said, “so it’s even better.”
If NASCAR pursues electric car racing, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer John Probst said he thinks it could revamp the fan experience, and one option could be a DJ.
“Our goal is to entertain the fans,” he said. “If the fans tell us this is what they want to see, we know how to create any race series.”
NASCAR isn’t the first motorsports organization to get into electric car racing — Formula E is an all-electric racing series that began a decade ago — but its fanbase 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 and will help the organization source more of its power from renewable sources.
NASCAR owns 15 tracks across the US, many of which are located along major roads, and ABB plans to equip those tracks with electric vehicle charging stations and connect them to the power grid.
It will be compatible with regular electric cars and will be available to anyone, not just race spectators.
NASCAR plans to implement sustainable race fuels by 2028, recycle at all events and use 100% renewable electricity at its facilities and tracks, and aims to reduce emissions from its operations to “net zero” by 2035.
That’s why the black, white and red car will have the number 35 along with ABB.
Rather than being made from the more common carbon fiber composite, the car’s body is made from a plant-based material called flax-based composite made by the Swiss company Bcomp.
NASCAR is also considering racing cars that run on hydrogen, and IMSA, the NASCAR-owned sports car series, has switched to hybrid engines in 2023.
Competitive racing series IndyCar will debut its hybrid engine this weekend in Ohio, while Formula 1 plans to use sustainable fuels in all of its cars from 2026 as part of new engine regulations.
Ford Performance built eight cutting-edge electric demonstrator vehicles of its own over a four-year period.
“Fans want to have some kind of connection and relationship with the race cars,” said Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Performance Motorsports. “As more customers purchase all-electric vehicles, we believe there will also be more people who want to watch all-electric cars race.”
U.S. electric vehicle sales rose 7% overall in the first half of the year, according to a preliminary tally released Tuesday by Motorintelligence.com.
EVs accounted for 7.6% of the U.S. new-vehicle market, roughly the same as for all of last year.
ABB Vice President Michael Plaster hopes that kids who see the new cars at NASCAR events will inspire questions about working toward a clean, electric future and one day be interested in working on electrical products and solutions, as the company invests billions of dollars in expanding its U.S. operations.
“I can’t think of a better way to generate interest and attention and create a forum for the conversation about the energy transition as a whole,” Plaster said.
