HPD chief plays down Honda NASCAR interest

Honda Performance Development, which administers the factory racing plans for its parent company at American Honda as well as its luxury performance brand Acura, says it will focus its current and future efforts on open-wheel and sports car racing.

Asked if it was considering a move into NASCAR, which has been the subject of ongoing rumor, HPD president Ted Klaus said stock car racing and the Next Gen formula due in 2022 is not in its plans.

“Regarding NASCAR, I think we've got our hands full right now with IndyCar and getting on with DPi for next season,” he explained. “We'll see how that turns out. My suggestion is the more that North American motorsports is able to take advantage of existing investments across the series, it gives manufacturers a chance to do more than one thing.

“So, if every series requires a unique investment, especially in today's age, that will probably cause people to pause. We can't be all things to all people. So I think, for the time being, we're going to focus on IndyCar and sports car on behalf of Honda Racing and Acura Motorsports. And that’s driven by business limitations, more than anything.”

​Pushed to a 2022 introduction due to delays caused by COVID-19, the Next Gen cars (pictured above in testing) are expected to be fielded by teams representing Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota, NASCAR's three tenured brands.