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Green flag: Chevy Blazer EV SS first electric to pace Daytona 500 field
Posted by Talbot Payne on February 13, 2025
The Daytona 500’s field of 40, thundering, V8-powered NASCARs will be led to the green flag this Sunday by . . . a green, whisper-quiet, battery-powered Chevy Blazer EV SS.
It’s the first time the Florida race, now in its 67th running, has been paced by an electric vehicle.
Together with the debut of a Blazer EV.R NASCAR Prototype race car, the Blazer EV SS is another indication of General Motors. Co.’s commitment to an all-electric future. Don’t expect NASCAR to abandon crowd-pleasing, internal-combustion-engine V-8s anytime soon, though, as even NASCAR’s mild electrification plans to go hybrid in 2024 have come and gone. But the Blazer indicates how the motorsport’s manufacturer sponsors — Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota — want it to promote the electric technologies they are developing for road cars.
The Chevy Blazer EV SS will be the pace car for the 2025 Daytona 500 – the first EV to do so. Chevrolet, Chevrolet
EV sales are less than 10% of U.S. car sales — about 40% of them in California — and have been targeted at upper-income buyers. Indeed, the Blazer EV SS will start at $61,995 — the price of a gas-powered Audi Q7 — when it goes on sale later this quarter. Among the 100,000, largely middle-class fans choking the Daytona infield this weekend, Chevy owners will skew to ICE pickups rather than EV SUVs, but Chevrolet is bullish on its electric lineup that starts with the $34,995 Equinox EV.
The 2025 Blazer EV SS is the first Chevy EV to wear the iconic SS performance badge and is the quickest SS model the brand has ever produced, rocketing from 0-60 mph in just 3.4 seconds. Its 615 horsepower is nearly on par with the 670-horse NASCARs lining up behind it — though the Blazer’s estimated 5,300 pounds make the big, 3,400-pound NASCARs look like lightweights.
Chevy’s NASCAR race car is badged a Camaro — a two-door, V8-powered sports car that went out of production in 2024. NASCAR racers use a bespoke racing chassis that shares nothing with production cars. Ford badges its NASCAR a Mustang and the Toyota NASCAR is a Camry.
“Chevrolet has a long history with racing — it’s in our DNA – and the Blazer EV SS is a testament to that,” said Chevrolet Vice President Scott Bell. “We’re excited for customers to watch the Blazer EV SS — the quickest SS we’ve ever produced — pace such an iconic race this weekend.”
The Chevy Blazer EV SS pace car packs 610 horsepower – nearly on par with a 670-horse, V8-powered NASCAR. Chevrolet, Chevrolet
In addition to its face-flattening power, the 303-mile range, all-wheel-drive Blazer EV SS is peppered with performance goodies like Brembo brakes and sport-tuned shocks. It boasts luxury touches like a 17.7-inch-diagonal color touchscreen and standard, hands-free Super Cruise driver assistance –— though for divided highway, not racetrack, use only.
“We’re honored to have Chevrolet as a founding partner of Daytona International Speedway, and that the iconic brand chose to feature the all-new Blazer EV SS,” said DIS track president Frank Kelleher.
The first EV to pace the field, the Blazer is the 16th Chevrolet model to do the honors.
The Blazer EV.R NASCAR Prototype also took a bow at Daytona this week, part of a joint effort between NASCAR and its manufacturing partners — Chevy, Ford and Toyota — to showcase emerging auto tech. Ford debuted its own version of an electric NASCAR — based on its Mustang Mach-E SUV — at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona last month.
“Our Chevrolet V-8 engines continue to be an important part of NASCAR. Racing has always been an important platform for Chevrolet to test, learn and explore new technologies,” said GM Performance & Motorsports Vice President Jim Campbell.
Chevy’s ICE production models will also get star turns at Daytona this weekend with the V8-powered Corvette Stingray leading the field for the Xfinity Series United Rentals 300 on Saturday and the Silverado RST pickup leading the Craftsman Truck Series race to the green flag Friday.
For a closer look at the Blazer EV.R and the three pace cars — Blazer EV SS, ‘Vette and Silverado RST — Daytona fans can check out Chevy’s infield displays.
When the green Blazer EV peels off the track and the flag waves at 2:30 pm Sunday, all eyes (and ears) will be on the pack of V-8s — including defending Daytona 500 champion William Byron, who will be seeking to put a Chevy NASCAR in the Daytona winner’s circle for the 27th time.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.