NASCAR's Steve O'Donnell says talks 'heating up' to add another manufacturer – Sports Business Journal

NASCAR COO Steve O’Donnell says negotiations to add a new auto manufacturer for competition are “heating up.” The racing series starts its 2024 regular season this weekend at Daytona, and it’s NASCAR’s biggest weekend not only for things like viewership and attendance but also with hosting high-level corporate titans including those from automotive brands.
 
NASCAR has been searching for over a decade to find a fourth manufacturer, or what the industry refers to as original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), to join Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota.
Dodge left the sport in 2012, though it held talks about re-entering around 2022. NASCAR has also been chasing Honda for years and remains in discussions with the automaker, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Asked about that this week, Honda & Acura Motorsports Manager Chuck Schifsky wrote in an email: “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. With that said, we have nothing new to report in terms of our future motorsport direction.”

The electrification of the car industry sparked by the success of Tesla is being capitalized on or eschewed to varying degrees by different car companies, making it harder to find alignment on what sort of powertrains NASCAR should be experimenting with or even fully implementing.
NASCAR has developed its own electric race car and was set to show it off at the Busch Light Clash earlier this month before schedule changes scuppered those plans. NASCAR also went to Japan in the offseason to study hydrogen racing, which Toyota supports.
Despite the disruption in the auto market, the changes are providing a boost to racing series that can convince car companies that they can help them market and develop new technologies. Formula One, for example, has attracted several new manufacturer commitments in recent years including Volkswagen Group’s Audi brand and American giant General Motors.

Asked how tough it was to land a new automaker and keep current OEMs happy amid all this disruption, O’Donnell said: “The great thing is you talk about our current partners, they’ve been tremendous not only with current technology in the car but being very open to new technology whether it be a different engine architecture or what we race, so those discussions are always forward-thinking … and our current partners are very open to new OEMs coming in and open to having conversations about that possibility.”
He said automakers “know that at the end of the day, being in NASCAR sells cars. It’s a proven thing and it’s a place OEMs want to be and should be.”
Sports Business Awards nominees unveiled; NWSL’s historic opening weekend and takeaways from CFP deal
On this week’s Sports Media Podcast from the New York Post and Sports Business Journal, ESPN’s Jay Bilas talks all things NCAA. Big Ten Network’s Meghan McKeown shares her insight into the Caitlin Clark craze. The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn chats all things Bean Town. And SBJ’s Xavier Hunter drops in to share his findings on how the NWSL is making a social media push.

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