Caruth and Chadwick car-swap NASCAR and Formula E at Homestead

Formula E’s Miami E-Prix showcased a first-of-its-kind car swap, in which rising NASCAR racer Rajah Caruth and open-wheel regular Jamie Chadwick switched seats.

Caruth, fresh from his ninth-place finish in the Camping World Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday night, transitioned to a whole new world when he got behind the wheel of a Formula E car for a brief venture on track, his first time in an open-wheel car, let alone an electric machine.

“It was a great experience to be around the paddock and learn about this different form of racing and the culture around here,” he said. “The technology is super-cool. I definitely wish I would have got a little bit more track time but it was a great experience.”

When it comes to Formula E cars and stock cars, the fact they both have four wheels is where the comparison both starts and ends, and having only raced stock cars in his career so far, the experience of Formula E — both on-track and from the sidelines — was an eye-opening one for Caruth.

“We were watching qualifying earlier and it was kind of crazy just the difference in how they have group qualifying then the finals and the Duels and everything like that,” he said. “It’s somewhat similar to the Speedweeks that NASCAR has at Daytona but it’s interesting to see.

“Sitting in the seat, it’s crazy all the information and systems that are in one of these cars. For us it’s on the dashboard or we have switch panels and things of that nature, our brake tools are kind of abstract around the vehicle, around our cockpit. For these guys it’s on their wheel and by their legs, so it’s super-crazy for sure.

“It was a great experience today and I really enjoyed it.”

Chadwick, meanwhile, drove NASCAR’s EV prototype. While it wasn’t her first experience of an electric race car – having competed in Extreme E and tested in Formula E multiple times – it was her first time in a stock car-like vehicle.

“Getting behind the wheel of the ABB NASCAR EV prototype was a great opportunity for me to experience a new piece of cutting-edge technology,” she said. “Being able to speak with Rajah and learn from his expertise — and hopefully provide him with an insight into the Formula E car — was a real learning opportunity for me.

“Across the two laps that we each completed in the opposite machinery, I hope that we put on a bit of a show for the fans at the Homestead-Miami circuit. It will be intriguing to see how this innovative technology develops and how it might be integrated in motorsport.”