Dale Earnhardt Jr. warns NASCAR not to use electric cars in O'Reilly Series
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. said moving to electric-powered cars would "destroy" the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series.
The NASCAR Hall of Famer, whose JR Motorsports team runs four full-time cars and another part time in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, reacted to the idea brought up by NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer John Probst in a recent interview with Sports Business Journal.
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The crossover utility vehicle EV made its debut on July 6, 2024, at the Chicago Street Circuit, with veteran driver David Ragan conducting some exhibition laps.
While Probst stressed the idea of the electric car and the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series was simply part of the discussion about the possibility for each NASCAR national series in the future, Eanrhardt Jr. wasted no time reacting on social media with a post stating, “I hope this never happens.”
Why Dale Earnhardt Jr. is against electric cars in O'Reilly Auto Parts Series
NASCAR brought the prototype electric vehicle back in April 2025 in a crossover exhibition with Formula E at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The car was developed in collaboration with Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota, highlighting NASCAR's goal of net-zero operating emissions by 2035.
Earnhardt followed up his social media post by doubling down on his position against using electric vehicles in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series on his podcast, the Dale Jr. Download.
“It’s my belief that absolutely the electric car and that body style and all that is something that NASCAR is looking at as a possibility for the future of the O’Reilly series," Earnhardt said. "The O’Reilly series has got a lot of good things going right now. Viewership is continuously on the rise. We can all kind of relate to those cars when we look at them, when we see them on the racetrack.”
Earnhardt said switching to electric cars would turn off race fans and stop the momentum the O'Reilly series has gained.
“A switch to anything unlike what we have would be a massive, massive mistake," he said. "We’re going up, right? Things are going well. We got a great TV partner. We have great numbers. We got great fan engagement. I think any kind of a change like that, dramatic as that would be, would destroy the series as we know it."
Is NASCAR serious about switching to electric cars in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series?
In the Sports Business Journal interview, Probst emphasized that the adoption of electric vehicles in NASCAR probably would not happen anytime soon.
"I’m not sitting here saying today we’re breaking news it’s going to (an electric Crossover Utility Vehicle), but these are the things that are on the roadmap to consider,” Probst said. “So, you’d have a Truck, a CUV, and a Cup. That’s three very different bodies that are relevant for our OEMs today to create that brand identity for each series.”
Probst is confident NASCAR fans could adjust to a move from combustible to electric engines.
“There is certainly a needle to be threaded there along the line of entertainment and sport, and maybe you can even go beyond sport and just say pure engineering,” Probst said. “I think for us, I feel like we don’t need to be on the absolute bleeding edge of powertrain technology to be relevant to our (original equipment manufacturers) and also be entertaining to our fans.”
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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Dale Earnhardt Jr. says electric cars would ruin NASCAR O'Reilly Series