​For all of NASCAR’s ballyhoo about tradition, like any modern-day motorsports operation, it’s become one that requires massive engineering efforts and multimillion-dollar investments in research and development to even sniff a qualifying spot at its highest level. But there’s one stock car cliché that still holds firm today: The automakers that participate in its circle-heavy spectacle are truly only there to win on Sunday, sell on Monday.The power of NASCAR as a promotional tool may have waned in recent years as the popularity of the top-level Cup Series has stumbled some, but it’s still the premier American racing series in terms of television viewership and in-person attendance. How those eyeballs translate into dollars when the on-track machinery is completely disconnected from the bestselling models at actual dealerships, however, is less certain.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSUVs have taken over the streets, but they’ve yet to make a dent in NASCAR, where the marquee series still bears the names Mustang, Camry, and Camaro—all cars, the latter of which is a model that left the market years ago. The divergence between the vehicles that NASCAR’s participating automakers badge for competition and what Americans are parking in their own driveways continues to widen with each passing year, as sport utility vehicles show no signs of slowing their dominance over nearly every other type of automobile.Photo credit: MotorTrend – MotorTrendOver the past two years, the sport’s brain trust has made a genuine effort to investigate incorporating SUVs into NASCAR events as more than just support vehicles for VIPs. That initiative has been intertwined with the development of an electric platform for potential use in the O’Reilly Auto Parts series, which is the next step down from primo Cup action. The crossover body shapes have already been designed and tested in partnership with high-tech engineering giant ABB.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWhen pressed by traditionalist fans in an uproar over the potential encroachment of both SUVs and EVs into NASCAR’s hydrocarbon-rich contests, NASCAR officials have been measured in their comments. This isn’t the first time that the organization has ruffled feathers by considering a dramatic break with the past—witness the controversy during the ’90s when the Craftsman Truck series was launched to harness the popularity of pickups. Adding crossovers to the O’Reilly Auto Parts events is positioned as something similar that could give it a more distinct identity versus Cup racing.“Long term … you’d have a truck, a CUV, and a Cup [series]. That’s three very different bodies that are relevant for our OEMs today,” NASCAR Executive Vice President John Probst told the media when asked about the development program. This was followed by a statement from Mike Forde, NASCAR’s managing director of racing communications: “If you look at the production car landscape, sedans