NASCAR’s Phelps on more schedule changes, new engine to have hybrid components

NASCAR President Steve Phelps appeared at the CAA World Congress of Sports on Tuesday and said the sanctioning body has not finished shaking up the schedule and NASCAR’s new engine is expected to have a hybrid component when it debuts in 2024:

Phelps also hit on racing in new markets and keeping the competition and cars relevant for manufacturers and competitive. He broke some news when he said that 2024 is the year when NASCAR will likely introduce some hybrid components to its seventh-generation race car, which debuts next year. He also suggested more bold (and until today unrevealed) schedule changes that are coming in 2023 and that NASCAR won’t hesitate to strip its 15 owned tracks of races if it feels the sport is best served by moving an event to a new market or venue.

Phelps: “For me, it’s really about continuing to expose our sport to new audiences. I believed in 2018, when we kind of hit the bottom, that we were going to grow. … I see a continued opportunity for us to just kind of mash the gas and do smart things that are going to help grow the sport.” Sports Business Journal

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The system could be anything from a “push to pass” arrangement, somewhat similar to DRS in Formula 1, or something more nuanced than that. No details about how this electric power might be delivered have been revealed by NASCAR, although every team will surely receive the same sort of system when it’s eventually rolled out.  The Drive