Dana White has just provided a possible glimpse at the future of NASCAR's rumored electric exhibition racing series.
White, the CEO and president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, appeared on the Flagrant podcast with comedians Andrew Schulz, Akaash Singh, and Mark Gagnon and video editor AlexxMedia. White spent more than two hours discussing his life and business pursuits, which happened to include comments about a deal with NASCAR.
"We also own a company called Thrill One, me and the Fertitta brothers (Lorenzo and Mark)," White explained. "Which is 'Ridiculousness' that's on MTV, we own that. We own SLS (Street League Skateboarding) league, we own 'Nitro Circus' and we own Travis Pastrana's Nitrocross, which is electric car racing.
"After Fourth of July -- I do Fourth of July at my house in Maine -- I'm flying to NASCAR and we're doing a deal with NASCAR. We're going to be the electric series for NASCAR. We're working on that deal right now."
The connection to Thrill One Entertainment and Pastrana's racing series is significant considering the experience with electric cars.
Nitrocross has multiple racing classes that compete throughout each weekend on the schedule. The top series in Nitrocross uses the all-electric FC1-X, a vehicle designed by rallycross experts Olsbergs MSE and electromobility specialists QEV Technologies. The FC1-X produces 1,000 BHP (brake horsepower).
Photo credit: Thrill One Entertainment
An electric racing series has been a topic of conversation for multiple years. In March 2022, NASCAR Chief Operating Officer Steve O'Donnell even told media members that NASCAR was exploring the idea of an exhibition series with electric race cars.
"We are exploring some opportunities around an exhibition series in that space," O'Donnell said, per NBC Sports. "And as everyone knows, there's a huge push across all of our (original equipment manufacturer) partners, and even potentially new OEM partners. So it's important for us to explore that space. I think there's a lot of interest from our current partners to be part of that."
O'Donnell continued and noted that there was no timeline for the debut of an electric racing series. He expressed a desire to have NASCAR's national series and the exhibition series coexist. O'Donnell also noted that NASCAR executives were looking at other alternative power sources, such as hydrogen.
"We look at NASCAR as a place where, in an ideal world, we'll be all things to all people," O'Donnell said. "So if you went to a NASCAR event weekend, you could see whatever type of technologies you wanted throughout a race weekend."
An electric race car has completed laps at Martinsville Speedway and the purpose-built track inside the LA Memorial Coliseum. Yet questions have remained about the exhibition racing series. Now, White has provided some potential answers about the series' possible future.