NASCAR considers switch to alternative fuel
Quote selected text Published July 6th, 2007 in NASCAR News
NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France said earlier this week the sport is researching a move toward an alternative fuel. It is a high priority for the sport, though no timeline has been set as the research is not far along. However, teams will have to revamp their entire engine program with the introduction of a new fuel.
Richie Gilmore, vice president of competition for DEI, estimated the change this year from leaded to unleaded fuel ran his company roughly $500,000 in research and development. France said there is no timeline for any change because there are “eight or nine different versions of what alternative fuels mean to people.” One possibility is ethanol, which the IndyCar Series switched to this season.
- Chevy pushing for alternative fuels in NASCAR
- NASCAR Pleased with Unleaded Fuel Test
- France meets with GM to discuss Ethanol switch
- Carmakers open to alternative fuels
- NASCAR to Phase in Unleaded Fuel by 2007
Ethanol is what they mean there, genius.
$500,000 just for the unleaded R & R… Imagine the millions for the switch to an “alternative” fuel.
Ethanol is a bad bad idea. Running with a fuel that requires fossil fuels to help produce
it to meet the demand will not work out. It really defeats the purpose of switching fuels.
I love watching the Brian France Cup Series. Wow so exciting! We have the glorious COT races, suspending crew chiefs for speaking out, and even Sponsor fights! I cant wait for NASCAR to use ethanol on pit road since when it burns you cant see the flame! Now talk about drama! This is exactly what the sport needs!
hahahahahaha thats one of the best ones ive seen yet. the sad thing is that its true.
Ethanol actually burns blue… but I agree with you on the rest…
I think they have been drinking Ethanol
Axel Foley is indeed correct. Ethanol has a visible “blue” flame. It is methanol, what IRL used to use for fuel, that burns without visible flames. The advantage of a methanol fire though is that it can be put out simply with water. Gasoline, being a petroleum product, isn’t as easy to put out with water and generally warrants flame-retardant chemicals such as found in a fire extinguisher. You can easily surmise which is cheaper… a water hose, or a canister extinguisher filled with retardant foam…
I applaud Brian France for having the fortuitous notions to keep options open on future fuels. As much as people seemingly want to bash and slander NASCAR of late… there is a race against time (regardless of how long that time span is, is open to conjecture) to move from fossil fuels to alternative options and it’s only a positive for NASCAR to seek out and explore any and all options. When you’re at the high end of motorsport, it is expected for you to take a leadership position in this regard. The move to unleaded was a big step that should’ve happened years ago. F1 is already looking at biofuels so you can expect NASCAR to be mindful of keeping pace considering that they’re easily the most popular form of motorsports in the U.S.
The last thing you want/need as an organization is to have the drama of environmentalists on your case making your life a headache. By showing that they’re mindful and exploratory in such measures and willing to take their own initiative… not only does it show the environmentalists that they’re open-minded to seeking alternatives that are better for the environment, it also shows manufacturers that there is a “cutting edge” element to the motorsport despite the reliance on 1960’s level technologies. Alternative fuels is a sure fire way to get more manufacturers, globally, involved as they too seek engineering gains from the further study of alternative fuels. Running unleaded gasoline through a 4bbl carburetor isn’t something that pushes future tech for the companies. NASCAR looking at everything from hybrid drivetrains to Hydrogen fuel, fuel cells, bio diesel… will in some capacity.
I can agree with others’ on NASCAR’s handling of various incidences of late… I think that they’re going about the silly crew chief suspensions the wrong way. I think if a team cheats they should either be parked for x # of races or better yet… like *MOST* other forms of motorsports… DQ’ed with a tail of the pack finish, no points, and no $. This silly business of letting a driver/team keep the win with a $ fine and point punishment was started under Bill France Jr. during Petty’s 200th win and it’s turned into beyond ridiculous in the avalanche snowball effect that has gone ’til this day. A true disqualification is a sure fire way to minimize any potentials of cheating if they automatically lose points (along with the win and $ lost; basically raced for nothing and you can bank no team out there can afford to pay their racers, crew members, cost of fatigue on equipment, and the burn off of fuel, use of tires… for no profit/gain) and there’s nothing a crew chief can do from an undisclosed motor home off-site via internet, cell phone, telegraph, or carrier-pigeon. Make penalties harsh for cheating and no one will cheat because there’s too much at stake to lose. Make the losses minimal… and you’re going to have engineers thrown at gray areas, on top of trying to make clear-cut black/white cheating masked by creative “illusion” to hide it. With every team having engineering departments in place… it’s quite obvious that they’re all trying to find a way beyond the rules to get an advantage. Punish them by holding them to the rules… and you’ll have less of them pushing it. Those that do… will eventually get their back broke trying sooner or later.
With that said, I think they’re spot-on with regards to the enforcement of a “tighter” regulation system with the Car of Tomorrow. That said, I think NASCAR’s past practice of undisclosed regulations needs to be tightened. Eury Jr.’s argument about wanting to know where the lines are painted is a very valid one on his behalf. That said… it’s been their problem all along and the CoT is actually the effort to improve on that. It still needs work but they’re going in the right direction. It’s time to fully document things for a change rather than have the ambiguous “approval” policies NASCAR has had for years.
I can also say however that Eury Jr.’s conduct and comments of late aren’t any better than NASCAR’s handling of things. When you’re sneaking your hand into the cookie jar… you don’t disclose to the owner of the jar what you’re doing. I’m a fan of Jr. as I like his personality and think he’s a good figure for NASCAR. I like Eury Sr. and Eury Jr. generally. That said, I’m not so stuck in drinking the “Kool Aid” to not be willing to admit when I think their antics are sickening. This latest bout of antics… while no doubt designed to earn favor by “backing” Hendrick’s crew members actions… would be enough to make me not want to hire someone. The last thing you want is a vocal and adamant crew chief to draw drama and scrutiny from NASCAR your way. The days of crew chiefs like Harry Hyde or… dare I say it, Smokey Yunick-style people willing to goe toe to toe and fight with inspectors… is over. Even Smokey was turned away by NASCAR years ago, so don’t think Eury Jr. couldn’t end up working at your local Autozone if he doesn’t mind his P’s and Q’s. With everyone that’s trying to get into NASCAR (i.e. now Sam Hornish, already snagged Allmendinger and Montoya from other disciplines… Boris Said, et al) the last thing you want to be is an outsider looking in when there’s $ to be made. If Eury Jr. was about the love of what he does vs. the $, he’d already have left if he didn’t truly gain enough to keep him satisfied with what he does.
For all of the above noted drama of late… this stance on alternative fuel studies is a good one. Granted, they would’ve been better off researching this along with unleaded fuels all along and hopefully finding a way to minimize the # of fuel changes and therefore technology evolutions going forward… but… considering how high stakes NASCAR is, they could announce tomorrow they’re going to run stock cars on diesel fuel and the entire garage would start working on it. Begrudgingly, content, or otherwise… they’re not going anywhere… rest assured of that.