In a NASCAR first, a fully electric prime mover has helped to haul a team’s race gear to the track

There will be nothing quiet about this Sunday’s Busch Light Clash at the LA Coliseum, but one of the team’s race haulers was much quieter than the others as the NASCAR Cup Series roadshow arrived in Los Angeles yesterday.

That’s because Team Penske used a battery electric Freightliner eCascadia to complete the trip to the famous venue in Downtown LA.

The eCascadia didn’t tow the race trailer for Austin Cindric’s Ford Mustang all the way from North Carolina. One of the team’s three diesel Freightliner Cascadias completed most of the trip from Team Penske’s Mooresville facility to the West Coast.

The prime mover swap occurred in Ontario, California, where the diesel Cascadia was subbed out for the pre-production electric prime mover. The zero-emissions eCascadia then pulled the Team Penske trailer the rest of the way to the Busch Light Clash venue, which was a trip of around 50 miles.

The #2 Ford Mustang inside the hauler will also sport Freightliner eCascadia branding during the Busch Light Clash, with Austin Cindric set to begin his debut NASCAR Cup Series season with a distinctive black and blue paint scheme under the LA Coliseum lights.

The eCascadia is currently available for pre-order in North America, and Freightliner hopes to start building them for customers in Portland, Oregon later this year. The debut model will have a range of around 250 miles and can recharge up to 80% in 90 minutes. For fans of performance, the eCascadia can put out up to 391kW.

That proved more than enough to pull a fully-loaded NASCAR race trailer, giving us a glimpse into the future of zero-emissions transport.

But as for the V8-powered stock car inside? It’s probably not going electric any time soon.   

The Busch Light Clash gets underway this Sunday, with practice starting just after midday. The 150-lap exhibition race is slated to start under lights at 6pm local time.