John Probst, NASCAR’s executive vice president and chief racing development officer, this week told the Sports Business Journal about the long-term future of NASCAR.
In 2024, NASCAR revealed its EV prototype based on a crossover utility vehicle (CUV) body shape.
Ford and Chevrolet have developed skins for the prototype since then and received mixed public reaction.
Where the crossover segment would fit into the NASCAR landscape has long been unanswered, until now.
Probst said he envisages a future where the CUV segment replaces the coupes and sedans in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, which sits one tier below the NASCAR Cup Series.
Chevrolet and Toyota are well-represented in the second division with its Camaro and Camry respectively, though Ford is effectively out with no Mustang teams racing full-time this season.
Probst said he sees a future where the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series is the domain for crossover utility vehicles and create a point of difference between the Truck and Cup categories.
“There is certainly a needle to be threaded there along the line of entertainment and sport, and maybe you can even go beyond sport and just say pure engineering,” Probst said.
“I think for us, I feel like we don’t need to be on the absolute bleeding edge of powertrain technology to be relevant to our OEMs and also be entertaining to our fans.
“Long term, you see it as we do, have that CUV body that we developed for our electric vehicle.
“I’m not sitting here saying today we’re breaking news it’s going to CUV, but these are the things that are on the roadmap to consider.
“So, you’d have a Truck, a CUV, and a Cup. That’s three very different bodies that are relevant for our OEMs today to create that brand identity for each series.”
Exactly when that might happen is unclear, though NASCAR legend Earnhardt Jr is not keen to see it any time soon.
“It’s my belief absolutely the electric car and that body style and all that is something that NASCAR is looking at as a possibility for the future of the O’Reilly Series,” said Earnhardt Jr on the Dale Jr Download.
“I would say that the O’Reilly Series has got a lot of good things going right now. Viewership is continuously on the rise and our cars we can all kind of relate to those cars when we look at them when we see them on the race track.
“Making a switch to anything unlike what we have would be a massive mistake and it would probably be the end of the rise.
“We’re going up, things are going well. We’ve got a great TV partner, we have great numbers, we’re got great fan engagement. Any change like that so dramatic as that would destroy the series as we know.”
Earnhardt Jr runs a multi-car team in the O’Reilly Series under the JR Motorsports banner.
He said he would not be interested in competing if NASCAR made the switch away from the status quo.
“I’m certainly not interested in that car or that body or any of that,” he said.
“Quit fiddling with everything and feeling like everything needs to be improved, fixed, changed. The series is doing really good.
“I don’t like the thought of the series changing vehicles and wouldn’t want to be… I don’t know how to say it, I’m just wouldn’t be interested in that.
“There are some conversations that the series has to have with itself, the owners, NASCAR, all the executives, and so forth.
“I honestly feel like those conversations are long overdue and we need to be having them today, because I don’t think the series owners are as excited about that idea as he may be.”
The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series still uses the ‘Car of Tomorrow’ that debuted in 2011.
Earnhardt said the series is facing supply issues and that it needs to modernise its rear axle and front suspension geometry due to the availability of parts.
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