Travis Pastrana throws shade at $500M UFC President Dana White for leaking NASCAR deal - "He wasn’t supposed to talk about it"
Travis Pastrana recently commented on Dana White revealing unofficial information regarding a NASCAR-Nitrocross joint venture. White, who is a major investor in the Pastrana-founded Nitrocross, confirmed that talks are currently ongoing with NASCAR.
The $500 million worth Dana White (according to Celebrity Net Worth) recently claimed on the Flagrant podcast that Nitrocross is "going to be the electric series for NASCAR" and that they're working on a deal at the moment.
Pastrana confirmed this development but mentioned that the current UFC President wasn't supposed to talk about this potential joint venture.
"[White] wasn’t supposed to [talk about it] either, but he likes to talk before anything’s out there," Pastrana said as per RACER.
As for when one can expect an official release about the NASCAR-Nitrocross venture, Travis Pastrana said "hopefully really soon." He added that NASCAR's leadership is looking into bringing in a younger audience and "make electric cool".
Nitrocross general manager Chip Pankow further confirmed that NASCAR was indeed in talks with Nitrocross for an "alliance."
"A friendly alliance is what we’re looking to do. We’ll always stand on our own. We’d like to have a relationship with them. What that looks like, we don’t know, but we’re having a lot of talks and trying to understand what that could look like," Pankow was quoted as saying to RACER.
NASCAR confirmed R&D of an electric race car but ruled out racing with it
In November 2023, NASCAR's Chief Operating Officer Steve O'Donnell confirmed the rumors about the R&D of an electric race car. Speaking about that race car, O'Donnell claimed "a lot of work" had gone into it.
However, O'Donnell claimed that NASCAR's plans weren't "to go racing" with the electric car. Instead, he envisioned it to be more of a showcase car for events.
O'Donnell added that NASCAR intended to test "each and every form" as he expressed excitement for what the teams can put together around an electric car. He mentioned that not only are new manufacturers interested in joining the sport, but the existing ones like Ford, Chevrolet, and Toyota were also open to using newer technology in their cars.
“There is certainly interest (from other manufacturers). I think one of the reasons we went over with Garage 56 was to continue to spur that interest. The challenge remains for us what engine package are we going to be running, specifically around Cup. The good news is all of our existing OEs are very open to dialogue now about where the new technologies are going," O'Donnell was quoted as saying (via Forbes).
It'll be interesting to see how the situation regarding an electric race car in NASCAR develops. Would it come in the form of an "alliance" between NASCAR and Nitrocross? Or would it come in the form of a new manufacturer entering the sport with the existing ones embracing the EV technology? That is something time will tell.