- Chevy Blazer EV.R NASCAR prototype debuts at Daytona 500
- 2025 Blazer EV SS serves as first electric pace automotive for signature NASCAR event
- NASCAR stays tied to gas-guzzling V-8s
No major racing series revels in inefficient internal combustion quite as much as NASCAR, but this 12 months its biggest race will kick off with the silence of an all-electric powertrain—and the debut of one other glimpse of its fully electric future.
The 2025 Chevrolet Blazer EV SS won’t be racing, but it should serve because the official pace automotive, leading the sphere of gas-guzzling V-8 race cars to green flag at this Sunday’s Daytona 500, the kickoff race for the 2025 NASCAR season and essentially the most prestigious event on the calendar.
Pace cars are used to maintain the sphere in formation ahead of the beginning of the race, in addition to during caution periods when cars flow into at slower speeds resulting from on-track hazards. A 2016 Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle previously handled these duties at a 2015 NASCAR race, but this will likely be the primary time a battery-electric vehicle has served as pace automotive at Daytona.
2025 Chevrolet Blazer EV SS
As a consequence of reach dealerships later this quarter with a $61,995 base price, the Blazer EV SS is the sportiest version of the Blazer EV, boasting 615 hp and 650 lb-ft of torque from an uprated version of the dual-motor all-wheel drive powertrain. Chevy says it should do 0-60 mph in 3.4 seconds, while Brembo front brakes and stiffer suspension tuning aim to deliver a livelier experience in corners.
Ahead of this weekend’s race, Chevy on Thursday revealed an electrical NASCAR prototype, dubbed Blazer EV.R, that can make its formal debut on the event. The three-motor model has produces greater than 1,300 hp combined and has a 78-kwh battery pack. The EV.R was built with chassis components lifted from NASCAR’s Next Gen chassis, and Chevy says that it’s already accomplished consistent laps with the EV.R at race speed—although after all it’ll be there for show only.
Chevrolet Blazer EV.R NASCAR prototype
Chevrolet Blazer EV.R NASCAR prototype
Chevrolet Blazer EV.R NASCAR prototype
This follows Ford’s unveiling of a NASCAR prototype branded as a Mustang Mach-E earlier this month. Ford’s prototype looked as if it would take cues more directly from the generic electric SUV NASCAR first showed in 2024. Organizers still have not committed to an electrical racing series, but first Ford and now Chevy showing EV prototypes indicates the concept hasn’t gone away.
That leaves Toyota because the only automaker currently participating in NASCAR’s top-level Cup Series to not show an electrical SUV prototype. Could a NASCAR bZ4X even be waiting within the wings?
This Article First Appeared At www.greencarreports.com
