Image via Chevrolet
For purists, hearing the 2025 Chevy Blazer EV will pace the Daytona 500 this year is triggering on several levels. Yet Chevrolet is overjoyed at the news, giving it a chance to highlight the all-electric crossover and the fact it’s the quickest SS model it’s ever produced.
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With the Daytona 500 coming up on February 16, the announcement is getting plenty of reactions, many of them unfavorable. Some on social media are questioning the timing of using an EV to pace a wildly popular NASCAR race, while others question why Chevy couldn’t have just used a Corvette instead.
The answer is obvious: just as Chevy says in its official announcement about the Blazer EV SS pacing the Daytona 500, the all-new model goes on sale later in the first quarter of 2025. This is expressly to pump up demand and sales for the all-electric performance crossover.
But one has to ask if it will even work? Maybe some NASCAR fans will see the Chevy and want to go check it out at a dealership, but it honestly doesn’t look all that remarkable. And it’s not going to be racing against the stock cars, just performing pace car duties, so its acceleration won’t even be showcased.
On top of that, putting an EV on the racetrack isn’t a horribly popular move. NASCAR fans have worried the sport might be headed in that direction, and the organization has flirted with the idea. However, electric vehicles have a serious problem with range and recharging times, making their ability to rip around Daytona for 500 miles is limited, at best.
Even worse is the fact this is a grocery getter, not even a sports coupe. Visions of a future NASCAR race where it’s all electric crossovers is going to make many racing fans even more upset. We’re not saying that’s going to happen, but the visuals with this aren’t good.
Images via Chevrolet
