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NASCAR electric vehicle prototype in Chicago.
Hendrick Motorsports President Jeff Andrews knows what it means to think outside the box when it comes to NASCAR and technology, with the organization’s involvement in the Garage 56 project for the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans. Electric racing, which has been a hot topic of conversation in NASCAR circles since an electric show car debuted before the Street Racing in Chicagois a concept that requires forward thinking.
Andrews appeared on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on July 11 and first discussed the weekend in the Windy City with Alex Bowman winning his first race in 2024. When asked, he also details provided on what he thinks is the potential future of electric racing in the sport.
“I applaud NASCAR for pursuing this and getting it on track and kind of demonstrating it there. It’s certainly very interesting“, Andrews said. “We’re going to follow the direction of our OEM, GM And Chevrolet wants to penetrate the markets that it covets. And I think NASCAR does too, right?
“They’re certainly consulting with Ford, Chevrolet and Toyota about this and where they want to go and how big it is going to be. get? It’s not going to get that big? But I do foresee that in the future there might be some sort of six or eight car exhibition that would take place before or after the race or something like that. just to highlight technology. I don’t think it’s part of our main Sunday program, but I think there’s relevance there.
Kevin Harvick Shares His Candid Thoughts on the Future of NASCAR Electric Racing
Andrews’ comments came just days after Kevin Harvick’s offered his thoughts on the demo car on the July 9 episode of his “Happy Hour” podcast and delivered a few candid remarks on NASCAR’s pursuit of electric.
“I think the electric race car itself – I think that scenario is probably a little bit political,” Harvick acknowledged. “I think with the manufacturers and NASCAR’s overall position and trying to put this electric vehicle together, I think I’m going to continue to make racing a more efficient racing experience.” Really think This push towards electric vehicles has come from manufacturers and NASCAR has started this project. And electric vehicles are not doing as well as they were when the project started. And I think NASCAR finished the project and I think from a perspective standpoint, from a political standpoint, from a broadcast standpoint, and all the things that go with the rest of the world, it’s great to see that you have something.
“But I think NASCAR was so far along in the EV project that the automakers were pushing that they finished it, but I think at some point the automakers said, ‘Hey, each of us will build three of these, we’ll do exhibition races.’ And I think when the EV project started, partyThe manufacturers said, “Hey, we’re not going to do that anymore, so thanks, but no thanks.” And now NASCAR is stuck with this electric vehicle that they can do demos with, but it’s Really the only thing that excites me about this. There is Really “There’s nothing in a racing car that doesn’t make noise that excites me.”
Veteran Journalist Sees Options With NASCAR Electric Racing
The 2014 Cup champion’s comments unsurprisingly made headlines. His fellow Fox journalist, Bob Pockrass discussed electric racing and Harvick’s comments during a July 11 appearance on the YouTube channel “Beating and Banging.”
“The hard part is, as Kevin mentioned, three or four years ago, manufacturers were really moving in this direction,” the veteran journalist said. “It takes NASCAR a few years to develop a car. They did it and now the manufacturers are shift either hybrid technology or hydrogen technology.
“They will go wherever the manufacturers go. If the manufacturers give up Electric vehicleNASCAR to abandon Electric vehicle. If manufacturers still want Electric vehicleand so a lot of If electric vehicles are used, I think NASCAR is going to create an electric vehicle series. Is it the Xfinity Series? Is that what it’s going to be? I mean, I could see it.
“I’m not going to say How’s it going happen, but I could see it. Or, like it seems that “They’ve had discussions with Nitro Cross. Is that where they’re going to end up putting this electric vehicle?”
For now, this is all speculation. But based on what Andrews has said, electric racing will likely continue to have a presence in NASCAR, albeit a limited one, and won’t detract from the overall experience.
Kyle Dalton He covers NASCAR for Heavy.com. He has more than 30 years of experience covering high school, college and professional sports, including for the Austin American-Statesman, San Antonio-Express News, Detroit News and Sportscasting.com. Learn more about Kyle Dalton
