All Electric NASCAR Series on the Horizon

What's the big deal? Don't y'all know, there's nothing new under the sun. Nearly 60 years ago, an electric-powered car piloted by Dan Gurney *won* the Rolex in Daytona. (This was actually before Rolex began sponsoring the race.) I saw the original telecast in 1962, which tells you I'm a really old guy....

 
As a guy who loves dirt racing, I wonder how electric vehicles would do in the Georgia red clay. I'd have to imagine World of Outlaws is looking into electric vehicles.
There is zero chance that dirt sprint cars, run and supported by some of the most traditional minded folks in racing, are considering going electric any time in the remotely near future.
 
What's the big deal? Don't y'all know, there's nothing new under the sun. Nearly 60 years ago, an electric-powered car piloted by Dan Gurney *won* the Rolex in Daytona. (This was actually before Rolex began sponsoring the race.) I saw the original telecast in 1962, which tells you I'm a really old guy....


I thought all of these years that Gurney used the banking to coast down the track and cross the line. Learn something new everyday
 
I was referring to the world, not just a Nascar race
In that case, charging batteries is just a different aspect of the existing grid / infrastructure problems. Remember, if the grid is down, the gas distribution system breaks down too. The pumps won't work. Electronic payment methods are down. The distributors can't pump fuel into the trucks to refill the stations.
 
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In that case, charging batteries is just a different aspect of the existing grid / infrastructure problems. Remember, if the grid is down, the gas distribution system breaks down too. The pumps won't work. Electronic payment methods are down. The distributors can't pump fuel into the trucks to refill the stations.
The point is, there will be more demand on the grids that can't keep up with the current demand as is.
 
Those are the reason the grid doesn't meet the demand, not reliable sources. The only answer would be nuclear energy.
I'm not sure how you are using the word 'grid'. I normally hear it used to describe the delivery system, and not including the power generation sources themselves. If you're using it to include both, no problem, but my previous comments were based on my interpretation.

CA has both insufficient generators and delivery, but more problems are on the delivery side. As we've seen in Japan, nuclear isn't a good option in earthquake zones. Wind on the Pacific coast is pretty constant. And wind, solar, tidal, etc don't have to completely replace fossil in order to be useful and reduce greenhouse emissions.

TX has plenty of generating sources, it's the delivery grid that issues (due more to mismanagement than physical insufficiencies).
 
Build out the wind, solar, tidal infrastructure to meet demand.

Create jobs / produce clean energy.
The problem is without the government propping up those types of energy with tax incentives and such in most cases they're still not cost effective.

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Pragmatically speaking we will have to build a grid to support electric cars or suffer economically. Other countries will move forward and we will become less desirable for investment if we refuse.
The clock is ticking and building good infrastructure is not an option if you want to remain competitive.
 
Climate change is not cost effective.
Climate change is real but the argument of how much we're effecting is debatable. Do I think we're has an impact on it? Yes, just not near as much as some people want us to believe. There was once a glacier covering the land my house is on, but that melted long before people were around.

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Climate change is real but the argument of how much we're effecting is debatable. Do I think we're has an impact on it? Yes, just not near as much as some people want us to believe. There was once a glacier covering the land my house is on, but that melted long before people were around.

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I’ll begin to worry about climate change when the politicians and lobbyists promoting the “crisis” stop traveling on airplanes and they start selling their waterfront properties.

Until then, electric cars are fast, they just aren’t as cool as this.

 
The problem is without the government propping up those types of energy with tax incentives and such in most cases they're still not cost effective.

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The petroleum industry is similarly propped up. The tax code is full of write-off and exemptions specific to it. One's propped directly on the front end, the other indirectly on the back.
 
I’ll begin to worry about climate change when the politicians and lobbyists promoting the “crisis” stop traveling on airplanes and they start selling their waterfront properties.

Until then, electric cars are fast, they just aren’t as cool as this.


I love that sound. I was about 4 feet away from the crew working on the 48 when they started it up... gave me chills.
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Climate change is real but the argument of how much we're effecting is debatable. Do I think we're has an impact on it? Yes, just not near as much as some people want us to believe. There was once a glacier covering the land my house is on, but that melted long before people were around.

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That glacier took thousands of years to melt. Since we started the Industrial Revolution, the average global temperature have gone up over two degrees C. That may not sound like much but it's a lot faster than the post-Ice Age warming, or any other rise or fall in global temps.
 
Traditionalists shouldn't get too worried - NASCAR probably won't eliminate gasoline powered racecars any quicker than it adopted fuel injection over carburetors (the last production cars to have carburetors were offered in the late 1980s, but NASCAR didn't switch to fuel injection until 2012). NASCAR will probably allow other fuels (probably alcohol based) before they quit on internal combustion engines altogether. Unless NASCAR remembers that it was started with cars that were based upon currently offered production cars...

Charging electric cars will be a challenge, but it is achievable. There will be better use of power produced at night - most power plants are not throttled down when demand lessens at night (so power is wasted as heat in the wires and equipment), while many electric car owners already recharge at night while they are sleeping. The power grid is upgradable, and there will be time to do it because of the slow rate that electric cars are catching on. Not all greenies are against nuclear plants - there are new designs that are less dangerous (although disposing of used fuel rods is still a problem). Alternatives like solar and wind are getting better. Also, people do not have to charge by using the power grid if they install their own solar panels.

Will the fans like electric car races? Probably not at first - especially the traditionalists, who will miss engine noise. They will hear tire squealing, and probably some kind of low electric motor / electronics noise... they will probably be able to actually hear the announcer (so he'll have to stay on top of his game - and I hope tracks don't get ridiculous about playing commercials)... they probably won't have to outfit their kids with earplugs. The blow-by / vibration that you feel if you are close enough will still be there (without the exhaust component).
 
The problem is without the government propping up those types of energy with tax incentives and such in most cases they're still not cost effective.

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The government has been propping up Big Oil for decades, and to several orders of magnitude of any support it has given alternative energy sources.
 
This (see John Kerry)
and Mr. Climate Crisis himself, Al Gore, owns a California beach house.

Clean energy is the future and it’s a fine aspiration. We can do it without the armageddon propaganda. We have been “3 years away from the point of no return” for decades.

If theres always a crisis, emergency legislation can be written and signed to absorb power.


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Regarding the sound, the good news is this from an article back in Feb:

While it remains an open-ended question just how electric the next-generation engine will be, it will sound exactly what is expected of a Cup Series powerplant for the foreseeable future. NASCAR fans can look no further than the rest of the motorsports community for how that will be accomplished.

Like the country at large, there’s a subset of the fan base who inherently rejects any attempts to replace the internal combustion, pushrod V8. To that audience, the rumble and the roar is embedded in their DNA as racing enthusiasts.

Any version of the sport where cars go swoosh like Formula E across the front stretch at Daytona International Speedway is anathema.

Fortunately for them, Phelps and representatives from each manufacturer say that distinctive rumble and the roar is here to stay for generations to come.

“Sound is a huge part of who we are as a sport,” Phelps said. “It’s going to continue to be.”

 
I can just see the pit stops now, having to take apart the underneath of the car to replace the battery.:rolleyes:
 
Electric race cars are nutty.

We still have time to find a good balance for both the ICE and full-on EV platforms. Interested to see what the oil companies are able to find in renewable fuels as well within the oncoming future.

Very exciting future with many possibilities.
 
I posted a Youtube of a guy pulling a full grown old style burb with a electric Ford 150 P.U. It was quite impressive
 
Looks like if all goes well, they want to implement it into the national series by 2025.
 
I was told you can't run 1,000 hp cars at Cup tracks anymore...

Like I said before, I'm open to this if it's an addition to the existing national series (like MotoE in MotoGP), just don't want it to eventually replace Trucks or Xfinity.
I think Dale Jr. has alluded to this (w/SUV bodies) replacing Xfinity within the next several years. The time is coming sooner than later.
 
I think Dale Jr. has alluded to this (w/SUV bodies) replacing Xfinity within the next several years. The time is coming sooner than later.
Where did you see him alluding to SUV bodies? Not doubting you, just didn’t see it anywhere
 
Where did you see him alluding to SUV bodies? Not doubting you, just didn’t see it anywhere
Towards the end of the DJD last week. He said the Xfinity Series doesn’t really serve a purpose to the OEMs anymore and they’ve been kicking around ideas like electric cars and SUVs, maybe four-cylinders or six-cylinders if they had to stay ICE.

Last graphic above suggests OEMs are looking at SUV/CUV bodies down the road.
 
Towards the end of the DJD last week. He said the Xfinity Series doesn’t really serve a purpose to the OEMs anymore and they’ve been kicking around ideas like electric cars and SUVs, maybe four-cylinders or six-cylinders if they had to stay ICE.

Last graphic above suggests OEMs are looking at SUV/CUV bodies down the road.

Ah ok. Feel like NASCAR changes too much too quickly. What even is their identity anymore. Maybe it’s more so from OEM pressure.
 
Ah ok. Feel like NASCAR changes too much too quickly. What even is their identity anymore. Maybe it’s more so from OEM pressure.
It’s a fast-paced world.

Some people have difficulty keeping up.
 
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