March 29, 2024

HONDA TO NASCAR?

From Northwest Motorsports News Services

The NASCAR Cup Series may have a new player on the track in the near-future?

Long rumored to be taking the technology it has developed for the IndyCar Series, Honda appears to be closer to go fender racing according to www.BeyondTheFlag.com reported March 19.

Sports Business Journal’s Adam Stern reported that NASCAR COO Steve O’Donnell says negotiations to add a new manufacturer or competition are “heating up”. He added that a person familiar with the matter stated how NASCAR has remained in discussion with Honda, the source reports.

Exactly when this move may occur has no real timetable. But an indicator might be Honda’s IndyCar contract expiring in 2026 leaving the door open for a possible stock car entry.

Talks with the OEM have gone on for years, including in 2020, when rumblings about Richard Petty Motorsports switching to the Japanese auto manufacturer were reported, the story indicated.

Toyota was the last manufacturer to come to the NASCAR Cup Series and that was a couple of decades ago in 2007 joining Dodge, Ford, and Chevrolet. Dodge departed in 2012.

“As part of our role managing American Honda’s Motorsports programs, we need to investigate all forms of motorsport here in the U.S., and as a part of that process, educate ourselves on what race fans are looking for,” Honda & Acura Motorsports Manager Chuck Schifsky wrote in an email.

“With that said, we have nothing new to report in terms of our future motorsport direction,” he added.

Honda is notable for its cutting-edge research and use developing both electric and hydrogen, both technologies NASCAR is exploring.

www.BeyondTheflag.com also reports RFK Racing owner Brad Keselowski reached out to Dodge about a possible return in 2022, but those talks have not moved forward.

It appears that Honda is possibly on the road to taking the technology it has developed for IndyCar to NASCAR. - Honda Motors photo

FACELIFT FOR TCR RACING SURFACE

The racing surface at Tri-City Raceway in West Richland got a recent facelift where dozens of cracks in the track’s surface were filled in advance of the April 7 running of the 55th Apple Cup. Opened in 1968, the unique half-mile tri-oval still operates with its original racing surface. The track was dormant for 17 years, reopening in 2021, however. The larger photo shows the track in its early years and the insetx 2024 repairs.