QOTD: How Should Small Tracks Handle EVs?
Matt P. wrote today about a dragstrip Down Under that has banned EVs over fire-safety concerns.
This, to me, is a mild bummer since some EVs can be darn fast in a straight line. Maybe not a ID.Buzz, but what about a Mustang Mach-E GT? The Kia EV6 GT? A Hyundai Ioniq 5 N? And so forth and so on.
As the EV market grows, some buyers will want to take them to the track.
That said, the fire-safety concerns are real. There's no evidence to suggest EVs catch fire more often than ICE vehicles, but when they do, the fires are hard to put out. So, how should tracks proceed?
To be clear, I think larger tracks that are used to hosting the occasional IndyCar/NASCAR/IMSA race will be fine. Road America, Watkins Glen, Laguna Seca and the like will be fine. So, too, will dragstrips that host NHRA events. They probably have enough resources on hand to handle an EV fire during the local "run what ya brung" night.
But smaller tracks, I am not so sure.
So, what say you? Should tracks prevent EV owners from driving on them? Or is it irrational fear of a new technology? Or something in between?
Sound off below.
[Image: Kia]
Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.
Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.
More by Tim Healey
Comments
Join the conversation