Joe Gibbs Racing had a problem. Its well-drilled pit crews spent recent years training on a stock car similar to the “Gen 6” cars the series raced for nearly a decade. But NASCAR moved away from that car and decades of five-lug pit stop history when it changed to the “Next Gen” car in 2022. The team got by with a converted previous-generation car in 2022, but it was not quite an accurate representation of the exact parameters teams would see in a race. A new Next Gen car is expensive to build and maintain, and the engines and transmissions necessary to actually build one are in short supply. The team’s solution? Simply make an electric stock car.

It‘s electric ⚡️ ⁰⁰A look at the electric car that our pit crews are going to practice pit stops with here at the shop. ⁰⁰#NASCAR #racing #electric pic.twitter.com/qnx0Zaf4lO

— Joe Gibbs Racing (@JoeGibbsRacing) December 12, 2022

This is the result. It’s a NASCAR stock car with an electric drivetrain built entirely to help pit crews practice. JGR told Road & Track it built it out of necessity, but it comes with some unique benefits. Most notably, it is silent and much more affordable to run.

“[It’s] used for pit stop practice only,” said JGR athletic director Matt Osborn. “It was much cheaper to build than a ‘real’ NASCAR Gen7 car for a pit practice car (we were forced to build something as our race cars changed drastically from the 2021 season- gen6 to gen7). We are hoping it will also be much more durable and therefore cheaper to maintain in the long run as well. And… last but not least- it‘s ‘greener’ of course!”

Road and Track

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