The Team Penske IndyCar driven to victory by Kiwi star Scott McLaughlin at the Grand Prix of Portland in early September, had made its way to the track hauled by a Freightliner eCascadia electric truck.

The penultimate round of the IndyCar series at Oregon’s Portland International Raceway was a chance for Penske Truck Leasing and Team Penske to be welcomed to the hometown of Daimler Truck North America (DTNA) and to showcase the Electric Island recharging facility.

McLaughlin qualified his Freightliner Dallara/Chevrolet on pole position and raced to a commanding win at Portland, leading 104 of 110 laps to score his third victory of the 2022 IndyCar Series. He led home Team Penske team-mate Will Power and fellow Kiwi Scott Dixon.

DTNA’s Electric Island is a first-of-its-kind electric charging station for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles in North America.

Electric Island helps accelerate the development, testing and deployment of CO2-neutral commercial vehicles (tank to wheel) like the recently launched, eCascadia which is built in Portland, Oregon. 

A joint venture between DTNA and Portland General Electric (PGE) which opened in 2020, Electric Island is located across the street from DTNA headquarters. It’s equipped with eight different chargers and the site is designed to allow the chargers of today to be replaced with new charger technologies of the future, including megawatt chargers.

Electric Island serves also as the blueprint for a future joint venture with DTNA, NextEra Energy Resources and BlackRock Renewable Power to design, develop, install and operate a high-performance charging network for medium- and heavy-duty battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles on critical freight routes along the east and west coasts and in Texas by 2026. Phase One is set to begin construction in 2023.

Since 2020, Penske Truck Leasing has tested Freightliner eCascadias with its customers in a number of different logistics operations, making deliveries of everything from foodstuffs to grocery stores, supplies to quick-service restaurant chains, medical equipment to hospitals and, more recently, race cars to racing events. Earlier this year, the three organisations made history when a pre-series eCascadia was used by Team Penske to pull a full-sized race car hauler to the NASCAR Busch Light Clash event in Los Angeles, California.

“Overall, driver and customer feedback about the Freightliner eCascadia has been very positive with many noting the electric vehicle features provide a unique driving experience in a familiar package along with the added benefits of enhanced sustainability,” said Paul Rosa, Senior Vice President of Procurement and Fleet Planning at Penske Truck Leasing.

“We continue to expand our electric vehicle fleet, using the trucks for customers in various applications, including bringing our Team Penske vehicles to races.”