Roger Penske believes NASCAR's future lies with hybrid technology over complete electrification

Owner of a NASCAR Cup Series team as well as a full-fledged NTT IndyCar Series operation, Roger Penske is just the guy to come to when you want advice for the sport's future. Often regarded as one of the greats not only in American racing history but all over the world, Penske's foray into sports car racing as well as endurance racing has seen him amass a wealth of knowledge only few can boast of.

With the worldly shift towards electrification of automobiles already underway, motorsports such as NASCAR, F1 and IndyCar are constantly under the spotlight to innovate and keep ahead of the curve. With talks about an all-electric future of stock car racing, Roger Penske seems to believe that is an unrealistic target, as of now.

Speaking to autoweek.com, Penske's idea of the next step for the sport comes in the form of a hybrid powertrain:

"I think the hybrid formula seems to be something that will make a lot of sense as we go forward because we’ve been seeing electrification kind of slow down here lately, I think hybrid is more of a bridging strategy to the future."

The 86-year-old also touched on the possibility of having an electric-only series in stock car racing, which incidentally has also been hinted at by the governing body.

He elaborated:

“I don’t see it overnight, but you maybe could have a sedan series where they could run without fully electric vehicles."

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NASCAR president expected hybrid powertrains alongside Next-Gen car unveil

NASCAR President Steve Phelps seemed to have had the same thought as Roger Penske as the governing body introduced the Next-Gen car two years ago.

Speaking to autoweek.com, Phelps said:

"I would be surprised if a new OEM came in without some type of electrification. I’m not talking about all-electric. I’m talking about a hybrid system. "

He added:

"I think it's something, obviously something that we’re exploring now with our existing three OEMs. The question is, what is it? What’s the timing of it?"

It remains to be seen how the sport adapts to the changing times amidst the need to be as eco-friendly and sustainable as possible.