NASCAR and ABB announced the ABB NASCAR Electrification Innovation Partnership and revealed a new EV prototype at the Chicago Street Race over the weekend. ABB becomes the first Official Partner of NASCAR Impact, the sanctioning body’s platform driving NASCAR’s mission to strengthen its communities and contribute to a healthier planet, and together will work to advance NASCAR’s strategic sustainability ambitions across electrification.

As part of the partnership, ABB in the United States will also help NASCAR achieve public sustainability targets around electrification and electric vehicle charging.

While NASCAR is committed to the historic role of the combustion engine in racing, it is also committed to decarbonizing its operations and reducing its own carbon footprint to zero across its core operations by 2035 through electrification and innovative solutions.

The ABB NASCAR EV Prototype is the latest innovation from the NASCAR Research & Development Center team, which recently completed the largest overhaul of the NASCAR Cup Series car in NASCAR’s 75-year history. The Next Gen car, which debuted in 2022, put the ‘stock’ back in stock car, modernizing most of the vehicle’s components. It also marked NASCAR’s rededication to product relevance in ensuring its race cars match production cars on the street as much as possible.

The prototype was developed in collaboration with NASCAR’s OEM partners—Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota—and was built by the NASCAR engineers responsible for the Next Gen car and the Garage 56 entry into the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Throughout the process, NASCAR and the OEMs collaborated on the design and elements of the vehicle.

The ABB NASCAR EV Prototype for each of the OEMs on display at the 2024 Chicago Street Race.

The track-tested, electrified stock car has three STARD UHP 6-Phase motors (one front, two rear) supplying power directly to all four specially designed Goodyear Racing Eagle tires. Anchored by a 78-kWh liquid-cooled battery, the tunable powertrain can produce 1,000 kW at peak power. Regenerative braking converts kinetic energy into power, making the car ideal for road courses and short oval tracks.

The All-Wheel Drive car has a generic Crossover Utility Vehicle (CUV) body made of sustainable flax-based composite. It shares many similarities with both the Next Gen and Garage 56 cars—the body sits on a modified Next Gen chassis, and the steering, suspension, brakes, and wheels all derive from the NASCAR Cup Series car.

ABB is a founding partner of NASCAR Impact, an umbrella platform launched to shepherd sustainability, community engagement, and other social initiatives. At the core of NASCAR Impact is NASCAR’s plan to reduce its own carbon footprint to zero across its core operations by 2035.

NASCAR has made material commitments to sustainable operations across its entire business. Moving operations from scope 1 (fuel burned) to scope 2 (electric) is a critical element of NASCAR’s sustainability strategy.

In addition to the long-term operating emissions goal, NASCAR’s annual carbon measurement informed near-term sustainability priorities, including sourcing 100% renewable electricity at owned race tracks and facilities by 2028, expanded waste diversion efforts, and on-site EV charging stations. ABB will play a critical role in helping NASCAR by providing valuable guidance, equipment, and support in electrifying key elements of the operational business.