Latest news with #NASCARONFOX
San Francisco Chronicle
12-07-2025
- Automotive
- San Francisco Chronicle
EV ‘blows away' NASCAR stock cars, but it's here to start a conversation, not race
NASCAR arrives at Sonoma Raceway once a year. The roar of racers' stock car engines push noise levels up to 130 decibels, the maximum threshold of pain for human hearing. It's the equivalent to a jet taking off at close range. Millions of fans across the country who follow NASCAR don't mind; they love its controlled chaos. It's the way the sport has always been. Sunday will offer a glimpse of an alternative for the future, one that stretches far beyond the track. An electric race car capable of generating up to 1,000 kilowatts, the equivalent of 1,360 horsepower, will run hot laps around Sonoma Raceway, but using its inside voice. Where a combustion engine rumbles and roars, an electric motor … well, whines. NASCAR's first-of-its-kind electric vehicle showcase on the streets of Chicago. — FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) July 6, 2025 The ABB-NASCAR EV Prototype — one of three NASCAR EV prototypes in existence — is the product of a partnership between ABB, a global technology company dedicated to sustainable energy through electrification and automation, and NASCAR Impact, the company's sustainability arm. It was first revealed a summer ago and has since been taken to 14 states. Every stop is another opportunity for NASCAR, committed to net zero emissions by 2035, to see how it may evolve. The upcoming showcase in Sonoma is not so much about the car itself. As U.S. leaders debate climate change under a Trump administration that recently signed resolutions blocking pro-EV rules in California, NASCAR and ABB see their EV as a vehicle for energy education. 'The United States is at an inflection point in how we use energy, and I think it's important that we have better conversations about energy,' ABB vice president of strategic partnerships Chris Shigas told the Chronicle. 'We see things like data centers and AI, manufacturing coming back to the United States. All of this takes massive amounts of energy.' AI. Data centers. NASCAR. All sources of colossal energy use — or waste, depending on who you ask. The steps taken by NASCAR to explore new energy mixes could be seen as progress, particularly at a time when the term is defined quite differently on either side of the political aisle. All three EV prototypes, including those produced by Ford and Chevy — both original equipment manufacturers for NASCAR alongside Toyota — performed live exhibition laps side by side for the first time last Sunday on the 2.2-mile street course home to Grant Park 165, an annual Cup series race in Chicago. The historic event seemed to stir frustration on social media among diehard fans averse to an electric future. 'No way that becomes the future of NASCAR,' one fan wrote on X. blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> This is going to trigger so many people 😂 — Kevin Fowler (@KevinFowlerJr) July 5, 2025 Retired NASCAR Cup driver David Ragan is as much a NASCAR traditionalist as anyone. His dad, Ken, made 50 Cup series starts from 1983 to 1990, his grandfather owned a car that raced at Daytona Beach in the 1940s, and David followed in their footsteps to notch two Cup series wins in his own career. He competed in the NASCAR Cup series for 14 years, and will be behind the wheel of the ABB stock car Sunday, as has been the case for the better part of the past year. Top speed and zero-to-60 mph are metrics that have yet to be tested, according to Shigas. But from regenerative braking, which stores energy lost from braking in the electric battery while also helping slow the car in tandem with its mechanical brakes, to instant torque (or acceleration) at the simple push of a green button, labeled by the outline of a rocket ship, Ragan claimed the EV prototype's performance 'blows away any internal combustion engine car that I've driven.' 'We're all creatures of habit, and sometimes we are afraid, as a society, of change,' Ragan added. 'This EV is not replacing the race car that's going to take the green flag at Sonoma this weekend. But I think this can be a complement to motor sports in general in North America. As the sales of EVs in North America continue to grow, I think NASCAR needs to be prepared to look at that as an option for a series down the road. I don't know when that may be. It may be five years down the road, it may be 15 years down the road, but our world is always changing.' NASCAR has not yet committed to an electric race car series. When the ABB NASCAR Electrification Innovation Partnership was announced last July, the same press release clarified that NASCAR remained committed 'to the historic role of the combustion engine in racing.' 'It's a conversation starter,' NASCAR director of vehicle systems CJ Tobin said. 'These (EV) cars, that's what they are.' In addition to the long-term goal of eliminating its carbon footprint entirely by 2035, NASCAR conducted an analysis that measured total emissions across its 2022 operations to help inform short-term sustainability solutions. The company aims to source 100% renewable electricity by 2028 at owned facilities and race tracks, where they also intend to implement on-site EV charging stations. A sentiment echoed by Tobin and NASCAR head of sustainability Riley Nelson: Each EV demonstration has the potential to heighten the average fan's receptiveness to owning an electric vehicle. Product relevance, the practice of having race cars reflect the production of everyday cars on the street as closely as possible, is a priority NASCAR especially emphasized with the Next Gen car — which debuted in 2022 — currently used in the Cup series. Previously the owner of a Ford F-150, Ragan purchased his first electric vehicle, a Ford Mustang Mach-E SUV, on New Year's Day. He hasn't been to a gas station in months. He still has a gas-powered work truck for occasional hauling. But he said he mostly drives his Mustang Mach-E, with a 300-plus mile range. 'To have a NASCAR vehicle, a NASCAR race car that is an OEM showcasing the power and the awe of an electric vehicle on a platform that fans are used to seeing every Sunday with their favorite drivers, that then creates that connectivity of, 'OK, so this is something that we can take home and we can adopt in our everyday life,'' NASCAR's Nelson said. 'It makes that technology seem more accessible.' Ragan is a dad to two elementary school-aged daughters, the next generation for a family with deep NASCAR roots. There is a chance their first cars will be electric. 'In the next seven years, think about what that EV market will look like and the price point and the cost of operating,' said Ragan, who added that he typically charges his Mustang Mach-E only once a week. 'There's a good chance that their first car will be an EV.'
Newsweek
10-06-2025
- Automotive
- Newsweek
William Byron Lost It All as Strategy Call Backfires
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. William Byron was on his way to a glorious NASCAR Cup Series victory at the Michigan International Speedway, but the same strategy that nearly helped him win backfired greatly. He led the race for 98 laps but had to go down pit road with just four laps to go. The Michigan race demanded drivers to be quick, but they also needed to conserve fuel at the same time. It turned out that the race strategy to maintain a dominant lead during the race consumed more gas from Byron's car, which then prevented him from winning. He had to pit to refuel and settle for a 28th place finish. Denny Hamlin passed him and claimed his third victory of the season. Speaking to Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports, Byron admitted that it was hard to save fuel and maintain the lead. He said: William Byron, driver of the #24 Raptor High Heat Chevrolet, enters his car during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on May 31, 2025 in Lebanon, Tennessee. William Byron, driver of the #24 Raptor High Heat Chevrolet, enters his car during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on May 31, 2025 in Lebanon, Tennessee."We end up running out there. We needed one and a half laps more fuel, so we probably saved three quarters of a lap, I guess. It was hard to save enough obviously and keep the lead, and also kinda drew him [Hamlin] in. "It seemed like he could just run hard, didn't seem like he had to worry about fuel at all. I was having [to] kinda do both. He got me there for sure, but I was going to run out. It was racing, and then it didn't really matter because we ran out." When asked if he would follow a more conservative approach for the regular season title or if he would just go for the win, Byron said: "Just try to go for the win. I felt like we had one of the dominant cars all day, and unfortunately, when you're so close to a window like that, you are right in front, you burn a lot more fuel. It was time to manage both. It sucks." William Byron was told to keep the lead and save fuel. He wasn't able to save enough. His thoughts after a potential win turned into a 28th-place finish. @NASCARONFOX — Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) June 8, 2025 Byron admitted in another interview that there was not much he could do in such a situation. He told Sports on Prime: "We didn't have enough. We were going to run out with a lap and a half left, we did run out with a lap and a half left. I was trying to manage both [and] manage the gap and save [gas]. It sucks, it really stings. Not able to do much about that. It is what it is." Running out of gas was the detriment for @WilliamByron today. #NASCARonPrime — Sports on Prime (@SportsonPrime) June 8, 2025 FireKeepers Casino 400 Cup Series Race Results 1. Denny Hamlin 2. Chris Buescher 3. Ty Gibbs 4. Bubba Wallace 5. Kyle Larson 6. Ross Chastain 7. Zane Smith 8. Kyle Busch 9. Ryan Preece 10. Brad Keselowski 11. Erik Jones 12. Josh Berry 13. Tyler Reddick 14. Daniel Suarez 15. Chase Elliott 16. Christopher Bell 17. AJ Allmendinger 18. Shane van Gisbergen 19. Austin Dillon 20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 21. Justin Haley 22. Joey Logano 23. Chase Briscoe 24. Ty Dillon 25. Riley Herbst 26. Cody Ware 27. Noah Gragson 28. William Byron 29. Carson Hocevar 30. Michael McDowell 31. Austin Cindric 32. Ryan Blaney 33. Todd Gilliland 34. John H Nemechek 35. Cole Custer 36. Alex Bowman
Newsweek
09-06-2025
- Automotive
- Newsweek
Carson Hocevar Heartbroken But Grateful After Scary Flat Tire Ends Race
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Carson Hocevar's chances of winning the NASCAR Cup Series race on home soil were shattered after the left rear tire of his car went flat in the closing stages, as he battled William Byron for the top spot. The race at Michigan International Speedway saw several twists at the end, including Hocevar's flat tire incident that sent him into the pits when there were just 18 laps to go. Unfortunately, the tire setback meant the 22-year-old finished the race in 29th place. Hocevar admitted that his win was going to be compromised anyway, considering the low fuel situation, and hoped for a yellow flag before the race ended. Speaking to FOX Sports' Bob Pockrass after the race, he said: "It was going to be near impossible to save four laps around this place for how fast we were going. So you kind of knew that but you wanted to save a little bit and the only reason we're saving wasn't to save to make, it was obviously saved just trying to keep our pit stop short because we needed that yellow so if the yellow came out, we needed the best opportunity to be good." Carson Hocevar, driver of the #7 Delaware Life Chevrolet, enters his truck during qualifying for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series DQS Solutions & Staffing 250 Powered by Precision Vehicle Logistics at Michigan International Speedway on... Carson Hocevar, driver of the #7 Delaware Life Chevrolet, enters his truck during qualifying for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series DQS Solutions & Staffing 250 Powered by Precision Vehicle Logistics at Michigan International Speedway on June 07, 2025 in Brooklyn, Michigan. MoreWhen asked if he received any tire warning, Hocevar said: "No. Maybe like, a half a lap earlier, I'm obviously really thankful it happened down the back stretch of two because they had a moment in late exit of 2, and I'm like that's not right. And then it sat down. "I've never really had a flat at these high-speed tracks. Then I got that feeling without it hurting or just being a big moment, especially for how good that car was, I'm glad we didn't tear it up." Carson Hocevar on leading the race knowing he was going to have to pit ... and the flat that ended his winning hopes. @NASCARONFOX — Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) June 8, 2025 Revealing further details to NASCAR, Hocevar said: "I felt like I screwed us a little bit by going a little early to put us in that fuel number. You lose the race both ways, right? You either run out (or this). But they should probably go to bed a little bit [easier] that somehow, some way we ran something over or something in the universe wanted a left-rear flat." Hocevar has missed out on top finishes this year due to unexpected hurdles, which led him to recall his Truck Series days. He added: "Just like I'm reliving the Truck Series days, but you're doing it in front of a big stage. And then, the difference is like I felt like I was throwing them away. Now, they're getting taken away – I use that term loosely – but just things out of our control. "It's such a double-edged sword, right? There's nothing I could go back and just be like, we could be better in this moment to win the race or not. There's so many moments where we're just like, 'Man, I just wish we had that opportunity to see if we even would have had a fighting shot at the end at these races.' I'd much rather be in these spots and have these things happening than just slow." Denny Hamlin went on to win the FireKeepers Casino 400 Cup Series race, after Byron ran out of fuel when just one and a half laps remained.
Newsweek
09-06-2025
- Automotive
- Newsweek
Todd Gilliland On Shocking NASCAR Crash: 'Zero warning!'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Todd Gilliland's NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway ended unexpectedly after he encountered a flat tire at high speed. The incident led him to lose control of his car, which then crashed into the wall and ended his race. Gilliland stated that the incident came with "zero warning!" The high-speed impact seemed brutal on video, and Gilliland confirmed that "it was a very unfortunate place" for his car to have a flat tire. Speaking to Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports, who asked if he received any tire warning, Gilliland said: "There was zero warning at all. Obviously, everyone is kind of pushing it. We've seen some left-rears down in practice, but that was a very unfortunate place for mine to go out that's for sure. Todd Gilliland, driver of the #34 Love's Travel Stops Ford, looks on during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on May 31, 2025 in Lebanon, Tennessee. Todd Gilliland, driver of the #34 Love's Travel Stops Ford, looks on during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on May 31, 2025 in Lebanon, Tennessee."It's just wild that you have a long time to think about hitting the wall, but it's all good. It honestly wasn't even a bad hit at all, so I'm proud of my guys for making my car better throughout the day. It's unfortunate." When asked if he was running low tire pressure, Gilliland admitted that he wasn't aware of the pressure and that he pushed the car a "bit too far." He said: "To be honest, I don't know what we were, but we can both imagine that I'm sure we were pushing it. Everyone pushes it. We pushed ours a little bit too far." Todd Gilliland said there was little warning on the flat tire that put him in the wall. He said teams run on the edge of tire pressures and they likely went too far. @NASCARONFOX — Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) June 8, 2025 A video shows Gilliland's car crashing into the wall after suffering a flat tire. The Cup Series race at Michigan was won by NASCAR icon Denny Hamlin, after Carson Hocevar, who led the race for 19 laps, suffered a left-rear tire blowout. Hamlin also battled William Byron in the last stage of the race, but they raced only until Byron ran out of fuel, leading him to pit and finish the race in P28. The setbacks paved the way for Hamlin's third victory of the season. Speaking to NBC Sports after the race, Hamlin said: "It's fantastic. Chris Gayle, this whole team has just done a great job. We've been so fast throughout the entire year, just haven't finished it for one reason or another. Feels good to come here at Michigan where we've been so close over the years. "This is such a gratifying day to restart 11th or something like that and drive through the field. I knew I was going to have to go 100 percent to get around everybody. Just worked them one by one."
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
NASCAR: Austin Cindric, Ford win at Talladega on a last-lap pass as Logano, Preece DQ'ed
TALLADEGA, Ala. — The final laps of the Jack Links 500 turned into an all-out Ford-vs.-Chevy battle, and when the checkered flag flew, Ford's Austin Cindric and Ryan Preece held off Chevy's Kyle Larson and William Byron in a photo finish. Cindric, who snapped a 30-race winless streak, won by about a yard — or 0.022 seconds on the clock — just holding off Preece as the pack approached lapped traffic. "That bright yellow car looks great up front. I'm thankful for everyone's support," Cindric said after the race. "Having a photo finish at Talladega, to be able to do it, get in the playoffs in front of this amazing crowd on a beautiful day in Alabama." UPDATE: The cars of Preece and Joey Logano were both disqualified after post-race inspections. Logano had finished fifth. The cars will now be scored in 38th and 39th place, respectively. There's an unspoken subtext to every Talladega race: The Big One. The massive, high-banked superspeedway provides perfect conditions for enormous, field-swallowing wrecks. They're the kind of wrecks that both horrify and entice viewers, even if nobody really wants to admit it. This time around, while there were 67 lead changes and 23 leaders over the course of the race, the Big One didn't happen, setting up a final sprint to the finish. There were only four cautions the entire race, two of which were for stage endings, a remarkably "clean" Talladega outing. For the first two stages, the only wrecks were relatively minor errors of judgment and execution. On lap 43, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney got tangled up during an attempted move onto pit road: Trouble coming to pit road for Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch! 👀 — FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 27, 2025 Nine laps later, Christopher Bell hit the wall hard following a push from Denny Hamlin: A BIG hit for Christopher Bell. He's dropped the window net and let his team know he's okay. — FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 27, 2025 "Denny didn't do anything wrong," Bell said after getting out of the car. "You have to push, you have to push to be successful. It's a product of the cars we race with this rules package.' The opening stages were as routine as Talladega gets; although the field ran as much as four-wide, the mistakes were few. Larson ended up winning the first stage, and Bubba Wallace the second. Aside from the early collisions that took out some of the race favorites, the only fireworks came from Joey Logano's microphone. Incensed that Cindric, his teammate, didn't push him to a stage win, he lit up his radio: "Way to go Austin, way to go, you dumb [expletive]! Way to [expletive]ing go,' Logano bellowed. 'What a stupid [expletive]. You just gave it to him. Gave a Toyota a stage win. Nice job. Way to go. What a [expletive]." "That was all I could do not to wreck Joey,' Cindric protested, perhaps thinking of the Hamlin push that sent Bell into the wall. 'I was obviously trying to stay there, I was trying not to wreck everybody." Logano, Ty Gibbs and Chase Briscoe were among the lap leaders; Anthony Alfredo, driving for Beard Motorsports, even managed a few laps at the front of the pack. As the laps wound down, a Chevy brigade of Byron, Larson and Alex Bowman challenged Ford's Cindric for the lead. Cindric held the low line while Byron led the high line. Preece, a fellow Ford driver, slid high alongside Cindric for the final few laps, setting up the furious finish. The Chevy contingent opted not to make a move into a third lane to catch Cindric and Preece, in part because of the lapped traffic right in front of the pack. That left Cindric and Preece free to duel one another for the victory, and Cindric came out on top. "I don't think there was anything I could have done on the final lap," Larson said. "I needed something else to kind of happen, maybe them blocking each other or something." Byron still leads the season standings with 388 points; Larson moved past Denny Hamlin into second place. Cindric moved into 15th place, up seven spots, thanks to his victory. After the race, Preece's car was found to fail Rule 14.5.8.F, having three shims instead of the required two, while Logano's car violated Rules 14.5.8.E and 14.1.P as it was missing a spoiler bolt. Team Penske indicated it will not appeal the disqualifications. 'The No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang was disqualified following post-race inspection at Talladega today. One of the 18 bolts on the surface of the spoiler that connect to the base was found to be loose, and NASCAR penalized the team as a result. This was not intentional and happened throughout the course of the race event. Team Penske accepts the disqualification.'
