Toyota Would Stay in NASCAR Even if It Ditched the V8

And the simple fact is that V8s are integral to NASCAR’s appeal as a spectator sport; there’s nothing quite like dozens of naturally aspirated racing V8s at full throttle blowing by in a matter of seconds. On top of that, these old-school engines fit well with the series’ new emphasis on cost reduction, as exemplified by the highly standardized Next Gen chassis. NASCAR has good reasons to stick with the V8 status quo—and yet, it appears to be pushing forth with hybridization, seemingly in part to strengthen its relationship with carmakers, which the Next Gen is already doing by more closely resembling road cars.

“What are we going to do with the architecture of the engine? Again, it’s dated—it’s a highly, highly evolved version of 1950s architecture,” said Wilson. “If you look at the business model of the sport, clearly over time, the cost to the teams on the chassis and car itself is going to level and come down, because the teams aren’t making everything now.”

“Now the engine becomes the next [question]. There’s still a lot involved in it, we’re trying to work with NASCAR to put a lid on it over time, but this all wraps up into future technologies and electrification, all of the things that the world is talking about every day now. What is the intersection between that and NASCAR and the OEMs? That’s rhetorical at this point because we don’t know.”

“Battery electric always comes to the surface at some point, and that might be down the road in some fashion in one of the three national series, but again, we’re in the entertainment business first and foremost. This isn’t a manufacturer-driven series—you wanna see that, go to the Rolex 24. This is about drivers, teams, and competition.”

In the end, NASCAR has to balance its relationship with fans with that of the companies that represent the auto industry on track—like Toyota. Some compromise seems inevitable, though the evidence seems to indicate that compromise may just be a hybrid-assisted evolution of today’s NA V8s. As compromises go, that sounds like as good of one as a NASCAR fan—and maybe an automaker—could ask for.

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