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Dana White during a NASCAR race in Las Vegas.
NASCAR officials have Talk about the possibility of entering the electrical space for many years. The electric car show is planned in advance the official start of 2024 season at Clash in the Coliseum, but historic weather conditions have changed those plans. Since then, the subject has remained relatively discreet.
However, the topic quickly resurfaced and made headlines after UFC CEO Dana White’s off-the-cuff comments during a June 5 appearance on the Flagrant podcast.
“We own Nitro Circus and we own Travis Pastrana Nitrocross, an electric car race,” White said. “After the Fourth of July – I do the Fourth of July at home in Maine – I fly to NASCAR and we work on a deal with NASCAR. We will be NASCAR’s electric car lineup. We are currently working on this agreement.
NASCAR and Travis Pastrana respond to comments
White’s comments are the first made public to mention the possibility of a pairing between the two racing units. Nitrocross general manager Chip Pankow confirmed discussions with Racer.com.
“Is Nitrocross talking to NASCAR? Yes,” he admitted. “Used to absolute talk to NASCAR. We aim for a friendly alliance. We will always be alone.
“We want to have a relationship with them. We don’t know what it’s going to look like, but we’re having a lot of conversations and trying to figure out what it’s going to look like.
A representative for NASCAR also confirmed that officials had a conversation with Dana White about a lot topic, but did not provide details on what was discussed.
Travis Pastrana shared his thoughts on the alliance and White’s comments with Racer.com.
“(White) shouldn’t have done that (talking about it) the same way, but he likes to talk before anything happens,” Pastrana said.
“Ben Kennedy (NASCAR’s head of racing development and strategy), all the guys… them Of course are looking for how they can attract a younger audience, create cool electrical devices and what they can do with manufacturers, and Dana’s has some answers for them.
Links already exist between NASCAR and Nitrocross
Travis Pastrana being linked to NASCAR is no surprise to fans who have followed his career a lot the sport of racing through the years. He has raced at various levels of NASCAR, including a full-time season with the Xfinity Series in 2013. A decade later, he drove the No. 67 car for 23XI Racing in the Daytona 500 and finished an impressive 11th. place.
In addition to Pastrana competing in NASCAR, many NASCAR drivers have crossed over and raced in Nitrocross, including two champions. IN Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch in 2021. The Hendrick Motorsports driver returns to competition in 2022.
And another sign of the growing relationship between the two racing series is what happens in the future with the start of the 2024-25 Nitrocross season in September, when cars take to the track at NASCAR-owned Raceway Richmond.
While it’s easy to understand how many people were surprised by White’s offhand comments on the podcast, a little closer look reveals that there is already synergy between NASCAR and Nitrocross. The proposed alliance would maintain this connection and who knows where it could lead.
Wherever it goes, you can be sure White will be happy to talk about it.
