Could Honda really join as the fourth OEM partner for NASCAR alongside Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota? Well, if you are to go by the gossip column and rumor market, they are pretty much sold on the idea of Honda entering NASCAR. However, adding an OEM partner to a big sporting giant like NASCAR is not as easy as flipping a switch. It is a tedious and lengthy process, and the Japanese manufacturer will have to meet all the criteria.
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Speaking on the SiriusXM Radio show, NASCAR’s chief racing development officer, John Probst, made an appearance. During the show, he shed light on the roadmap for how quickly Honda can join the NASCAR bandwagon. And he had a piece of disappointing news for those who believed Honda could make its NASCAR feature as early as 2025.
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It was Toyota that last joined as the OEM partner for NASCAR in 2007. And ever since Doge pulled its plug from NASCAR, the sport has been long-eyeing to add a fourth manufacturer to its garage. While the likes of Steve O’Donnell and Marshall Pruett have hinted at Honda’s potential plans to join the premier stock car racing series, nothing has been official so far.
However, for a newcomer to join the list of OEM partners, there is a procedure put in place. According to John Probst, Honda and NASCAR could very well work out a deal to get the fourth manufacturer up and running. “A timeline for a new OEM coming into our sport is somewhere in the 18- to 24-month period. When we work with our existing partners, obviously it’s important for us to make sure that any new partner coming in would be a complement to what we have here today.” Probst said via Sportsnaut.
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He further explained, “If a new OEM did want to come in 2026, we are within a few months of us getting to the point where you almost start running out of time to go through all the steps that we have today. If all the stars align, it is possible you could do it quicker than 18 months. It would take a lot of effort and, frankly, a little bit of luck to get everything to line up perfectly to do that.”
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Marshal Pruett
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It is indeed an exciting prospect to hear about a fourth manufacturer joining NASCAR, but as far as their actual racing is concerned, Honda will have a mountain to climb to set up its functional NASCAR operations.
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Times have changed drastically since Toyota and Dodge made their entry into the NASCAR scene. For a manufacturer to join the garage, they would need a team to supply their body and equipment. While the whole process is now streamlined with the arrival of the Next Gen car, Honda will need to find more than a single team to get its ball rolling.
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However, there’s a catch. The current charter deal will run its course at the end of this season, and still, the teams and NASCAR have not signed an extension. The new charter agreement would change things drastically to onboard a new manufacturer, but for the time being, that too is on hold. It’s not that Honda does not have the credentials to provide the best service to its teams; they have proven that in the IndyCar Series. However, the fact that they have been tight-lipped about their plans to join NASCAR does make you wonder about their intentions.
Even in the best-case scenario, a potential entry for Hondo as the new OEM partner for NASCAR can be predicted by 2026, unless there’s a huge surprise around the corner from both NASCAR and the Japanese automobile company.
Source : EssentiallySports