NASCAR: Possible new manufacturers give one major stipulation

The last time NASCAR entertained a new manufacturer in any of its three national series was 2007, when Toyota entered the sport. Since Toyota's entry, NASCAR has seen Dodge leave entirely, and the competition has boiled down to Toyota, Chevrolet, and Ford.

All three are historic manufacturers that have been staples of the automotive industry as a whole, and they all have significant ties to the history of motorsport in general. But sometimes the status quo becomes stale, and when something new arrives, the landscape gets shaken up.

Enter the talks of a fourth manufacturer in NASCAR. While it's great to see Ford's blue oval, Chevrolet's bow tie, and Toyota's oval and rings all fight on the weekends, a new challenger to compete against the three main OEMs has long been a major goal of the sport.

NASCAR has been no stranger to being in talks of adding a fourth manufacturer, and Honda has been the name to watch out for quite a few years. Aside from the competition aspect, the business opportunities for a new OEM in a season that sees multiple team owners growing frustrated with revenue talks could be advantageous for all parties.

But in order to join NASCAR, potential new OEMs have a stipulation.

According to Sport's Business Journal's Adam Stern, prospective manufacturers have told NASCAR that they will only enter the sport if the series can target ''consumers with hybrid cars or sustainable fuels".

Honda, for example, offers a hybrid version of the Accord. Additionally, Dodge, which RFK Racing co-owner Brad Keselowski recently tried to lure back into NASCAR himself, plans to release an EV version of the Charger.

So if the stock car series that has been competing purely with combustible engines switches over to a race car that mimics the future of daily driving, both a new manufacturer and a former one could look to enter the sport in the near future.

NASCAR has been no stranger to looking into an electric series and was originally scheduled to test a prototype vehicle before the Busch Light Clash with veteran driver David Ragan behind the wheel before weather scrapped those plans at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in early February.

All things considered, a change in NASCAR's vehicle power and the addition of at least one more OEM now seem to be not a matter of if, but when.