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This Is the New Pace Car for the NASCAR Race in Martinsville

The all-new Ford F-150 Lightning EV will become the first electric pickup truck to pace a NASCAR Cup Series race. It will have the chance to become a part of NASCAR history this weekend when it leads the pack around Martinsville Speedway under the lights on April 9.
New NASCAR Pace Car 13 photos
Photo: Ford
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Even though this is the first EV track to be a pace car, it's only the third electric car from Ford. Last April, a Mach-E kicked off the race at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama while Ford had sent an electric Focus to do the pace car job in Virginia at the Richmond International Raceway, ten years ago.

The F-150 Lightning is capable of keeping the V8 beasts at a pace of 35 mph (56 kph), as it has 563 hp with 775 lb-ft (1050 Nm). The truck is able to reach 60 mph (97 kph) in about four seconds.

"Ford is fully invested in electrification and the response to Lightning has been so overwhelming that it was an easy decision to bring it to a NASCAR event," said Jeannee Kirkaldy, motorsports marketing manager, Ford Performance. "One thing we definitely know is that our fans love trucks and we're confident that feeling will only grow when they see Lightning out on the track leading the field to green."

The Ford F-150 is one of the most popular cars in U.S. history. In addition, it's been America's best-selling truck for 45 years straight,  almost half a century. Not long ago, the F-Series reached a milestone when the 40 millionth unit went out from the assembly line at the start of 2022.

This week, the Martinsville Speedway is celebrating its 75th anniversary and will host all three top NASCAR touring series. With so many top drivers in contention for race wins and the championship, this weekend's race will be memorable for so many reasons.
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About the author: Silvian Irimia
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Silvian may be the youngest member of our team, being born in the 2000s, but you won't find someone more passionate than him when it comes to motorsport. An automotive engineer by trade, Silvian considers the Ferrari F50 his favorite car, with the original Lamborghini Countach a close second.
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