Nascar

NASCAR Pays a Whopping $6.25 a Gallon for Gas

khallgeisler — Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

While most of us are coordinating ride shares and hopping on our bikes to save money on gasoline, what are people who drive -- and drive fast -- for a living doing? Drafting, sure, but at 200 miles an hour, it's hardly because they're looking to save on fuel economy.

NASCAR does have a deal with Sunoco, the supplier of the series' special race fuel, to provide free fuel at sanctioned events; the teams have to foot the bill for everything else. Many teams perform extra, all-day tests at non-sanctioned tracks, where they'll burn through a 55-gallon drum of race fuel at $6.25 a gallon.You've got the math right: almost $350 to test a car for a day.

That doesn't count the cost of diesel to fuel the truck that hauls the car to the test track, or from race to race. Diesel is at or above $4 a gallon already, and the truck tanks hold about 300 gallons. Right again: $1200 a fill-up.

The drivers have to get to the track, too, and if it's a race in California or New Hampshire, that means flying, either commercially or in a private plane (many drivers own small jets). There's another couple thou in jet fuel or plane tickets.

NASCAR owners and drivers aren't hurting for cash by any means, and the series has no plans to shorten races as it did in the 1970s during the gas crisis. The guys in the pits with the flame-retardant suits won't be out of a job yet. But next time you wince as the dollars fly by on the gas pump, pity the poor NASCAR teams shelling out thousands of dollars for one Sunday of fast driving.

Original AP story at NASCAR.com

Photo by sidehike

E85 Gets Green Flag

khallgeisler — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 20:42:42 -0500

With the 12 Hours of Sebring kicking off the season in March, the American Le Mans Series has announced that it will allow E85 to be used for the first time. EPIC, the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council, has spearheaded the move, and GM will race two E85-powered Corvettes in the 2008 season.

(For non-race fans, these cars are low-slung race cars closer in shape to Formula One cars than street cars. Based on the classic French 24-hour Le Mans race, the American series caps its longest race at 12 hours and 3,100 miles, which should be long enough for anyone.)

In 2007, EPIC was able to make an in-road with ALMS by getting E10 on the track. This fuel, commonly known as "gasohol," is 10% ethanol and 90% gasoline and can be used in unmodified engines. Not surprisingly then, E85 is 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline and can only be used in so-called "flex-fuel" vehicles. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, E85 reduces ozone-forming emissions and carbon dioxide while being renewable and biodegradable. They should know.

E85 also has an octane rating of about 100 to 105; for comparison, regular unleaded gas has a rating of 87, most premium gasoline at the pump is rated 93, and NASCAR's leaded fuel is rated 110.

Speaking of America's favorite race series, NASCAR has just this year caught up with 1971 and switched over to unleaded fuel. Sunoco, NASCAR's official fuel supplier, has finally developed an unleaded race fuel called Sunoco 260 GTX that won't damage stock car engines. Look for NASCAR to switch to E85--or any other enviro-friendly fuel--in 2045.

Photo courtesy fiatguy85.