The Chevrolet Camaro has been in NASCAR since 2018. For the 2025 season, Chevrolet will likely run the Camaro Zl1 body style without the Camaro branding. While the manufacturer models do not resemble the actual car, the branding of the race car is a very important marketing tool for the manufacturer.
“Chevrolet can still run the Camaro for as long as it wants, from what I can tell. But obviously, it would want it to correlate to something it sells,” said Bob Pockrass via X.
What will replace the Camaro in NASCAR? Here are a few options:
While the Chevrolet Malibu was recently discontinued, it could be revived as an electric vehicle. While no official plans have been made, an electric Malibu could be produced by 2026 or 2027. It is also important to remember that the Next-Gen race car was designed for electrification.
This would give Chevrolet a car to market in NASCAR, keeping their “win on Sunday, sell on Monday” mindset. The discontinuation of the Malibu was a surprise to many, including Honda and Toyota, so perhaps GM plans to bring it back as an EV.
Chevrolet could bring in the Malibu EV to help boost sales against competitor Toyota, whose Camry is a direct rival to the Malibu. Toyota outsells the Malibu with the Camry by more than two-fold.
While not a midsize car like the Camry or the Mustang, the Blazer EV is going to be a big selling point for Chevrolet going forward, so bringing it to NASCAR could be a good way to advertise the electrified vehicle.
“If we are going to get into an electric space, I promise you it will be entertaining, and it will be something that fits into our portfolio and something our fans will be proud of,” said NASCAR Chief Operating Officer Steve O’Donnell.
Bringing the Blazer to NASCAR would not only advertise EV’s, but also crossover vehicles, which are more popular than Sedans.
GM could take Chevrolet out of NASCAR and bring in Cadillac. This could be in the form of the CT5. However, Cadillac is already involved in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship and WEC. Which only features 19 races a year.
Adding 36 NASCAR races could be a big undertaking for the brand. Not to mention they will be on the F1 grid starting in 2026.
Aside from workload, the biggest issue with Cadillac coming to NASCAR is that the luxury brand is not looking to appeal to NASCAR fans. The average transaction price(ATP) for a Cadillac in 2023 was over $70,000. While the ATP of a Chrevolet was just under $50,000. The two price points are for vastly different markets and Cadillac would have a hard time seeing a boost in sales because of their participation in NASCAR.
Cadillac racing is a fully funded factory effort. Corvette racing is not. GM dropped factory support for IMSA and WEC for the Corvettes. Now, the Corvettes are run by private teams.
Maybe if GM were to start a new factory program, it could replace the Camaro in NASCAR. It is definitely a stretch, but seeing the Corvette logo on a NASCAR would be really cool.
The price point for a Corvette is even higher than that of a Cadillac, but if Corvette were to join NASCAR, they should definitely push NASCAR fans to watch them participate in IMSA(which is owned by NASCAR) and WEC. By racing in NASCAR, they can increase their fanbase for endurance racing.
While this is a big stretch, recent news makes this a little more believable: Trackhouse Racing is partnering with TF Sport(who races the Corvette in WEC). The two are entering the 24 Hours of Daytona together. Most importantly, NASCAR drivers Shane Van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch will be driving the No. 91 Corvette in the GTD Pro Class.
Perhaps this is the first step toward Corvette coming to NASCAR. At this point, it is all speculation and good offseason fun.
