Fuel injection in NASCAR
Encyclopedia
The idea behind fuel injection
in NASCAR
is that the stock car
automobile technology can catch up to the technology used by actual Toyota, Chevrolet
, Dodge
, and Ford
vehicles on the road today.
Media outlets from around the world have declared fuel injection to be the most important technical change since NASCAR was founded in 1947. As of December 15, 2010, the only four-wheeled vehicles that are still manufactured with a carburetor either come with a John Deere
or a Toyo
nameplate.
rules.
Initially, NASCAR indicated that it would transition to fuel injection midway through the 2011 season. They ultimately decided to delay the transition for one more year. Starting in the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
season, carburetor
s will be replaced with fuel injection - making the technology legal after 55 years of being "outlawed." The first race in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series history to use fuel injection will be the 2012 Daytona 500; which will take place on February 26. The first series of tests that were applied to the new fuel injection system began on the Thursday practice prior to the 2011 Quaker State 400
race; Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
was the fastest driver inside a fuel injection vehicle and Ford was the quickest vehicle. Stock car racing technology had fallen behind the technology used in vehicles that are mass produced for the general public. The reason behind this is that NASCAR didn't take advantage of fuel injection when fuel injected vehicles started to almost completely replace carbuetor-powered vehicles during the late 1980s.
Outside the NASCAR racing circuit, the American automobile manufacturers would make the final two models to run on carburetors: the 1990 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser
and the 1990 Buick Estate Wagon. Neither of these vehicles raced in NASCAR during the 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season; Oldsmobile was represented by the Cutlass Supreme
model at the time while Buick was represented by the Regal
model.
The fuel injection system that NASCAR will use in all future Sprint Cup Series races has been jointly developed by McLaren Electronic Systems
and Freescale Semiconductor
; each team will have to pay $26,000 per vehicle for the conversion to fuel injection.
Personnel on all the racing teams will have to adjust to the new technology. Restrictor plate
s, however, will remain in the series for an indefinite period of time because major accidents at Daytona and Talladega made it necessary for a device to slow down the vehicles to half of their normal horsepower. Sprint Cup vehicles (powered using carburetors) can only go up to 185 mi/h at a typical Daytona 500 race while the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series pickup trucks can do up to 190 mi/h and don't require restrictor plates. The fuel-injected NASCAR Sprint Cup vehicles may run slightly faster than their predecessors; also making new challenges for the restrictor plate manufacturers.
Fuel injection allows a precise amount of fuel to suit the amount of air flowing through the engine; making it more efficient. Fuel injection is also used to regulate the horsepower
rating of the stock cars; making the sport safer, providing for more fuel efficient vehicles, in addition to cleaning the environment for the spectators in and out of the race. It has been speculated that BMW
and Honda
may join NASCAR once the series has switched to fuel injectors. There are more than 150 different adjustments that Sprint Cup Series crew chiefs can make with fuel injection; as opposed to 24 different adjustments with a carburetor. Engineers and mechanics that are employed in NASCAR will develop methods to keep the top speed of the vehicles at less than 200 miles per hour (321.9 km/h) on the longest tracks of the circuit like Talladega Superspeedway
and Daytona International Speedway
.
The stock car racing organization will have a special authorization code that will keep hackers away from tampering with the vehicles using workaround programs. Since the cars run on 15% ethanol fuel (commonly known as E15), fuel injection will move the Sprint Cup Series towards more alternative fuel
s. However, the fuel injection cars will sound the same and function the same as their carburetor-powered ancestors.
Fuel injection
Fuel injection is a system for admitting fuel into an internal combustion engine. It has become the primary fuel delivery system used in automotive petrol engines, having almost completely replaced carburetors in the late 1980s....
in NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
is that the stock car
Stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing found mainly in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Great Britain, Brazil and Argentina. Traditionally, races are run on oval tracks measuring approximately in length...
automobile technology can catch up to the technology used by actual Toyota, Chevrolet
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
, Dodge
Dodge
Dodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide....
, and Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
vehicles on the road today.
Media outlets from around the world have declared fuel injection to be the most important technical change since NASCAR was founded in 1947. As of December 15, 2010, the only four-wheeled vehicles that are still manufactured with a carburetor either come with a John Deere
John Deere
John Deere was an American blacksmith and manufacturer who founded Deere & Company, one of the largest and leading agricultural and construction equipment manufacturers in the world...
or a Toyo
Toyo
TOYO may refer to:Places:*Tōyō, Kōchi, a town in Japan*Tōyo, Ehime, a former city in Japan*Toyo Province, a Japanese province divided in 683*Toyo, Democratic Republic of the CongoCorporations:*Toyo Engineering Corporation, Japan...
nameplate.
History
Back during the 1957 NASCAR Grand National season, the then-current president of NASCAR, Bill France, Sr., immediately banned fuel injection and superchargers from NASCAR before they could race due to the domination of the 1957 Chevrolet. The 1957 Chevrolet was one of the first fuel-injected vehicles to become mainstream in America and enough were sold to allow it into NASCAR competition due to homologationHomologation (motorsport)
In motorsports, homologation is the approval process a vehicle, race track or standardised part must go through to race in a given league or series. The regulations and rules that must be met are generally set by the series' sanctioning body...
rules.
Initially, NASCAR indicated that it would transition to fuel injection midway through the 2011 season. They ultimately decided to delay the transition for one more year. Starting in the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
The 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will be the sixty-fourth season of professional stock car racing in the United States, which will begin on February 18, 2012 at Daytona International Speedway, with the Budweiser Shootout, followed by the Daytona 500 on February 26...
season, carburetor
Carburetor
A carburetor , carburettor, or carburetter is a device that blends air and fuel for an internal combustion engine. It is sometimes shortened to carb in North America and the United Kingdom....
s will be replaced with fuel injection - making the technology legal after 55 years of being "outlawed." The first race in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series history to use fuel injection will be the 2012 Daytona 500; which will take place on February 26. The first series of tests that were applied to the new fuel injection system began on the Thursday practice prior to the 2011 Quaker State 400
2011 Quaker State 400
The 2011 Quaker State 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on July 9, 2011 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky. Contested over 267 laps on the 1.5-mile asphalt tri-oval, it was 18th race of the 2011 Sprint Cup Series season, and the first Sprint Cup Series event at Kentucky...
race; Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. is an American NASCAR driver. He currently drives the #6 Blackwell Angus Beef Ford Fusion for Roush Fenway Racing in the Nationwide Series. Stenhouse was the 2010 Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year and the 2011 Nationwide Series champion.-Career:Stenhouse began racing stock...
was the fastest driver inside a fuel injection vehicle and Ford was the quickest vehicle. Stock car racing technology had fallen behind the technology used in vehicles that are mass produced for the general public. The reason behind this is that NASCAR didn't take advantage of fuel injection when fuel injected vehicles started to almost completely replace carbuetor-powered vehicles during the late 1980s.
Outside the NASCAR racing circuit, the American automobile manufacturers would make the final two models to run on carburetors: the 1990 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser
Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser
The Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser is large rear-wheel drive station wagon which was produced by Oldsmobile from 1971 to 1992. The Custom Cruiser used the same platform as the Buick, Chevrolet and Pontiac full-size wagons...
and the 1990 Buick Estate Wagon. Neither of these vehicles raced in NASCAR during the 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season; Oldsmobile was represented by the Cutlass Supreme
Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme
The Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme was a mid-size car produced by General Motors for the American market. It was always at the top of the Cutlass range. It began as a trim package, developed its own roofline, and eventually was mechanically divorced from the later, smaller Cutlasses.The Cutlass Supreme...
model at the time while Buick was represented by the Regal
Buick Regal
The Buick Regal is a mid-size car introduced by General Motors for the 1973 model year. North American production ended in 2004 and began again in 2011. For the 2011 model year, Buick re-introduced the Regal to the North American market, positioned as an upscale sport sedan...
model.
Purpose
McLaren Electronic Systems
McLaren Electronic Systems is a member of the McLaren Group that controls Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, a Formula One racing team and constructor....
and Freescale Semiconductor
Freescale Semiconductor
Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. is a producer and designer of embedded hardware, with 17 billion semiconductor chips in use around the world. The company focuses on the automotive, consumer, industrial and networking markets with its product portfolio including microprocessors, microcontrollers,...
; each team will have to pay $26,000 per vehicle for the conversion to fuel injection.
Personnel on all the racing teams will have to adjust to the new technology. Restrictor plate
Restrictor plate
A restrictor plate or air restrictor is a device installed at the intake of an engine to limit its power. This kind of system is occasionally used in road vehicles for insurance purposes, but mainly in automobile racing, to limit top speed and thus increase safety, to provide equal level of...
s, however, will remain in the series for an indefinite period of time because major accidents at Daytona and Talladega made it necessary for a device to slow down the vehicles to half of their normal horsepower. Sprint Cup vehicles (powered using carburetors) can only go up to 185 mi/h at a typical Daytona 500 race while the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series pickup trucks can do up to 190 mi/h and don't require restrictor plates. The fuel-injected NASCAR Sprint Cup vehicles may run slightly faster than their predecessors; also making new challenges for the restrictor plate manufacturers.
Fuel injection allows a precise amount of fuel to suit the amount of air flowing through the engine; making it more efficient. Fuel injection is also used to regulate the horsepower
Horsepower
Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...
rating of the stock cars; making the sport safer, providing for more fuel efficient vehicles, in addition to cleaning the environment for the spectators in and out of the race. It has been speculated that BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
and Honda
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...
may join NASCAR once the series has switched to fuel injectors. There are more than 150 different adjustments that Sprint Cup Series crew chiefs can make with fuel injection; as opposed to 24 different adjustments with a carburetor. Engineers and mechanics that are employed in NASCAR will develop methods to keep the top speed of the vehicles at less than 200 miles per hour (321.9 km/h) on the longest tracks of the circuit like Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega Superspeedway is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama, United States. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base just outside the small city of Lincoln. It was constructed by International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France Family, in...
and Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, one of the most prestigious races in NASCAR. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts races of ARCA, AMA Superbike, Grand-Am and Motocross...
.
The stock car racing organization will have a special authorization code that will keep hackers away from tampering with the vehicles using workaround programs. Since the cars run on 15% ethanol fuel (commonly known as E15), fuel injection will move the Sprint Cup Series towards more alternative fuel
Alternative fuel
Alternative fuels, known as non-conventional or advanced fuels, are any materials or substances that can be used as fuels, other than conventional fuels...
s. However, the fuel injection cars will sound the same and function the same as their carburetor-powered ancestors.