NASCAR wants to showcase its sustainability efforts and building an EV prototype is one way of doing that. Discussions about the project between NASCAR and its OEM partners started mid-2022
The internal combustion engine is an integral part of NASCAR’s fabric and that is set to continue in the coming years. But, like other sanctioning bodies, NASCAR is also aware of the need to operate more sustainably. It has committed to reducing its carbon footprint to zero by 2035 and is using technology as a way of demonstrating how it can achieve that.
The advent of the in-house Next Gen car presented an opportunity to initiate special projects, including one showcasing a greener mobility option. While most of Next Gen’s first season was dedicated to addressing normal teething issues, a number of fringe operations were simultaneously under way using the Next Gen architecture at NASCAR’s R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina.
One was the Garage 56 effort in partnership with the Hendrick Motorsports team that famously returned NASCAR to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2023. Almost in parallel, beginning in the summer of 2022, NASCAR and its OEM partners also agreed it was time to take a step into the battery electric vehicle (EV) arena. NASCAR’s design and aerodynamics groups worked alongside each other to develop not only a novel powertrain, but also a new body style to go with it.
Design challenges
The two major system design considerations for the prototype NASCAR EV were electric powertrain selection, and how to package it in the Next Gen platform. With performance and reliability uppermost in mind, NASCAR began the search for an experienced group in the electric vehicle space to partner with.
This venture did not last long before it was decided that STARD would