If anyone has their finger on the pulse of cutting edge and awesome driving experiences, it’s the folks at NASCAR. So it is quite notable that this week NASCAR, the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 14 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities, installed 30 electric vehicle (EV) chargers at its Daytona Beach headquarters.
NASCAR collaborated with Florida Power & Light and ABB to install the Level 2 chargers, which are available to employees and others, and will facilitate the group’s transition to electric fleet vehicles. The chargers appear to be ABB’s Terra AC Wallbox, which can supply power at 32, 40, or 80 amps.
The Terra AC Wallbox supports Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP), which means it can operate on any charger management system (CMS) which communicates using industry-standard OCPP messages. A CMS is the back-end cloud service that enables capabilities such as real-time charger monitoring and data reporting, access control, collecting payment for charging, and managing the chargers’ power level. A key benefit of using OCPP hardware and networking is the ability to easily switch CMS providers and to integrate multiple brands and models of chargers into a common platform.
“NASCAR has made material commitments to sustainable operations across its entire business,” said Riley Nelson, Head of Sustainability at NASCAR. “FPL and ABB will provide NASCAR with valuable guidance, reliable equipment and the support needed to electrify key elements of our operation.”
“NASCAR is leading the way on electrification and Daytona is another significant step forward. Electrifying real estate like parking at NASCAR headquarters puts these assets to work, accelerating the transition to sustainable mobility,” said John Stahlbusch, Vice President of Sales, North America at ABB E-mobility, and founding partner of NASCAR IMPACT.
“We’re excited to work with NASCAR and Daytona International Speedway to deliver fast, reliable EV charging solutions for its employees and other EV drivers at its headquarters,” said Crystal Stiles, executive director for Distributed Technologies and Mobility at FPL.
For help determining an appropriate EV charging configuration for your property, I invite you to contact me via LinkedIn or my website, www.EVadvisors.com.