The car, which was leaked publicly last month, now has lights and apparently has the potential to reach speeds in line with the current NASCAR Cup Series platform at Martinsville.
Specifically, the car was subjected to 340 laps over three days at the half-mile short track in southern Virginia. David Ragan drove it. NASCAR says the optimal performance range of the battery isn’t 100 percent but has a sweet spot of 30 to 80 percent and that it was generally operated at 50 percent.
By the end of the test, NASCAR says the prototype was within ‘a few tenths’ of the current Cup Series car, which shares the same base chassis and platform beneath its shell.
NASCAR officials have been adamant since this car was made public over the fall that it wasn’t a harbinger of a soon-to-come division but is entirely a concept car. It’s purely a way for NASCAR to make an effort to stay on top of emerging technologies in a rapidly changing landscape in Detroit and abroad.
Of all the new technologies that NASCAR is exploring, the sanctioning body is actually most invested in hydrogen or other alternative fuels, as it actually wants cars to continue to sound like something reflective of its heritage.
Read much more at Sportsnaut.
