LINCOLN, AL - APRIL 25: Jesse Love 2 Richard Childress Racing Whelen Chevrolet leads the field of race cars to the green flag to start the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA OÕReilly Auto Parts Series Ag-Pro 300 race on Saturday April 25, 2026 at the Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire AUTO: APR 25 NASCAR OÕReilly Auto Parts Series Ag-Pro 300 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon9532604250044
LINCOLN, AL - APRIL 25: Jesse Love 2 Richard Childress Racing Whelen Chevrolet leads the field of race cars to the green flag to start the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA OÕReilly Auto Parts Series Ag-Pro 300 race on Saturday April 25, 2026 at the Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire AUTO: APR 25 NASCAR OÕReilly Auto Parts Series Ag-Pro 300 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon9532604250044
Apr 26, 2026, 5:06 PM CUT
NASCAR’s EV Plans Face Pushback as Star Driver Raises Concerns
Just like many, NASCAR's star driver Sheldon Creed denounced the idea of having EVs in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series. Known for its rugged nature, Creed believes having electric engines in the NASCAR cars would be a 'bad' idea despite the talks about a possible change for global sustainability.
"I love where our cars are at, the O'Reilly Series," Creed told Frontstretch. "If I could pick the car, I'd go back to, like, 2022 when we had all the SKU, but I still think our car is great. It puts on a great race."
Creed then addressed one of the most important concerns that many have if EV takes over the racing business.
"The EV thing, I think, could be cool, but it scares me at the same time because it's not loud, you know," Creed further added, as he went on to explain how he once went to watch Nitro Rallycross races, and found the engine sound exciting.
But when it comes to electric engines, he said, "Then, yeah, the electric, I thought, was super boring." Notably, the talk about having electric engines in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series isn't rare, as other racing series have already entered or partially entered.
Open-wheel racing series such as Formula E exist solely on electric power. While Formula 1 now has a fifty percent use of electric engines, and IndyCar, another open-wheel racing series, uses hybrid engines as well. NASCAR, however, still runs on the V8 engines, the sound of which has become the heartbeat of the sport.
As most popular racing series have already adopted it, Dale Earnhardt Jr. thinks it might be dangerous for NASCAR to do the same.
Dale Earnhardt Jr Warns NASCAR of Dire Consequences
Former NASCAR driver and team co-owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr., warned that shifting to electric engines would be disastrous and would alienate fans. With this, he also shared that if the sport decides to go that way, JR Motorsports can withdraw from the competition.
"I think making a switch to anything unlike what we have would be a massive, massive mistake," Dale Jr. said on this week's Dale Jr. Download.
"Any kind of change like that, as dramatic as that would be, would destroy the series. I would not be interested in that. I don't think JR Motorsports would be interested in that," he added.
With that said, it will be interesting to see if NASCAR decides to go the EV way or backtracks, thinking about the fans.
Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!
Written by
Sabyasachi Biswas
Edited by
Suyashdeep Sason