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Sprint Cup
CUP: Daytona Test Provides Data
Engine builders pleased with fuel injection results from Daytona test...
Hendrick engineers look at data during Daytona Preseason Thunder at Daytona International Speedway. (Photo: Getty Images)
There wasn’t much talk about fuel injection during the three-day test last week at Daytona International Speedway.
And for NASCAR officials, that’s a good thing.
After more than a year of work, they hope that teams are comfortable with the new system, which will debut in the Daytona 500 and be used throughout the 2012 season.
It appeared that for the most part, Sprint Cup teams were comfortable with their base packages during the three-day test.
Because drivers are not on and off the throttle at Daytona, the track is not the most challenging as far as the efficiency of the system. But just getting all the new components to work properly can be a challenge.
“To keep an EFI [electronic fuel injection] engine running, you’ve got tons of wiring from the front to the back,” said Toyota Racing Development President Lee White. “You have 10 times the fuel pressure to worry about and managing that. Providing electricity just to make that much pressure is a challenge.
“It requires a lot more juice from an alternator, so we’ve all had to upgrade our alternator packages, and that’s an unknown at this point. Sensors, wiring, connections … it’s a lot more complicated to deal with. From what I saw, everyone has done a pretty darn good job.”
NASCAR changed the restrictor plate twice during the test and the engine cooling parameters changed three times, giving teams some practice on how to react to a change. The change adjusts the “map” – the process of programming the system to calculate how much fuel to send into the engine and when to ignite the spark plugs depending on the amount of air controlled by the throttle and the RPMs being turned.
Roush Yates Engines CEO Doug Yates said he was pleased with the way his group could adjust to the changes.
“The guys back at the shop ran through the new plate the night before [the change] and we came in and made some changes,” Yates said. “The guys in here had it scienced out pretty well and we can make changes on the fly pretty well.”
The key for Daytona is making sure everything can last for 500 miles.
“We’ve been very pleased in how things have gone, trying to get a lot of times on things with different sensors making sure the durability is there,” said Earnhardt Childress Racing engine builder Richie Gilmore. “[We’re] making sure everything holds up under the heat, under the hood vibrations and things like that. So far, everything looks really good.”
With all the changes during the weekend, it kept virtually all the teams there the entire three days.
“You’ve got a garage full of geeks, engineers and technicians that I think took it on as a challenge,” White said. “It kept it interesting.”
The engine builders were worried about the general durability of their engines when NASCAR went Friday to a restrictor plate with holes 1/32nd of an inch bigger than what was used Thursday. Speeds hit 206 mph and the engine builders asked for a change for Saturday, and NASCAR went back to the original restrictor plate.
“We were concerned,” Yates said. “Every engine has its limits and you design it around that certain RPM range. In the past, we were running 9000, 9100 and anytime it exceeds that limit, it will break.
“And so it’s easy to just run 206 miles an hour and it looks great and everything [but] the engine can’t operate in that range. … We [would] need to know if we need [to expect] 9500 RPM and need to re-develop everything we have.”
NASCAR didn’t want the engine builders to have to do that, especially with the fact they haven’t competed yet with the fuel injection system.
Teams don’t have options as far as the basics of the system, which costs about $25,000 each. McLaren Electronic Systems makes the electric control units for the system, while the sensors are made by Freescale Semiconductor and throttles made by Holley.
White said he didn’t see any manufacturer with a distinct advantage and it could be three months before anyone gets a true sense of any benefit to one manufacturer over another.
“Overall evaluation of the performance is difficult down here because everybody is on different agendas,” said Penske Racing competition director Travis Geisler. “Until we show up and race and everyone brings their A game to the table, it’s hard to say. I think we’re OK where we are with EFI. We’re working on it.”
The test last week also brought to light some fuel injection rules:
• Teams have the option of whether to use an electric or cable fuel pump. The Fords are using a cable while other manufacturers are using electric fuel pumps. NASCAR also recently increased the number of electric lift pumps inside the fuel tank from one to two – making it easier to fuel the car while it is on heavy banking.
• If teams have problems in race conditions, they will not be allowed to plug their computers into the system on pit road. They will have to go to the garage. NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton said it would be a safety issue to have teams plug into the systems on pit road.
• Teams (as well as NASCAR) will be allowed to tap into the information throughout the race weekend. After each race weekend, NASCAR will distribute information on all teams’ maps.
“We'll share everybody's maps at the conclusion of a race to help everybody accelerate their programs and just to employ our competitors as some of our watchdogs,” NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Director John Darby said, “because at the end of the day they're all going to be pretty close, and if we've got eyes looking at what those tunes were and can pick out an area that doesn't look right, then it gives us an easier path to go back and more closely scrutinize what's going on inside.”
SceneDaily.com • 2012 NASCAR Hall of Fame: Richie Evans was ‘King’ of the Modifieds
And for NASCAR officials, that’s a good thing.
After more than a year of work, they hope that teams are comfortable with the new system, which will debut in the Daytona 500 and be used throughout the 2012 season.
It appeared that for the most part, Sprint Cup teams were comfortable with their base packages during the three-day test.
Because drivers are not on and off the throttle at Daytona, the track is not the most challenging as far as the efficiency of the system. But just getting all the new components to work properly can be a challenge.
“To keep an EFI [electronic fuel injection] engine running, you’ve got tons of wiring from the front to the back,” said Toyota Racing Development President Lee White. “You have 10 times the fuel pressure to worry about and managing that. Providing electricity just to make that much pressure is a challenge.
“It requires a lot more juice from an alternator, so we’ve all had to upgrade our alternator packages, and that’s an unknown at this point. Sensors, wiring, connections … it’s a lot more complicated to deal with. From what I saw, everyone has done a pretty darn good job.”
NASCAR changed the restrictor plate twice during the test and the engine cooling parameters changed three times, giving teams some practice on how to react to a change. The change adjusts the “map” – the process of programming the system to calculate how much fuel to send into the engine and when to ignite the spark plugs depending on the amount of air controlled by the throttle and the RPMs being turned.
Roush Yates Engines CEO Doug Yates said he was pleased with the way his group could adjust to the changes.
“The guys back at the shop ran through the new plate the night before [the change] and we came in and made some changes,” Yates said. “The guys in here had it scienced out pretty well and we can make changes on the fly pretty well.”
The key for Daytona is making sure everything can last for 500 miles.
“We’ve been very pleased in how things have gone, trying to get a lot of times on things with different sensors making sure the durability is there,” said Earnhardt Childress Racing engine builder Richie Gilmore. “[We’re] making sure everything holds up under the heat, under the hood vibrations and things like that. So far, everything looks really good.”
With all the changes during the weekend, it kept virtually all the teams there the entire three days.
“You’ve got a garage full of geeks, engineers and technicians that I think took it on as a challenge,” White said. “It kept it interesting.”
The engine builders were worried about the general durability of their engines when NASCAR went Friday to a restrictor plate with holes 1/32nd of an inch bigger than what was used Thursday. Speeds hit 206 mph and the engine builders asked for a change for Saturday, and NASCAR went back to the original restrictor plate.
“We were concerned,” Yates said. “Every engine has its limits and you design it around that certain RPM range. In the past, we were running 9000, 9100 and anytime it exceeds that limit, it will break.
“And so it’s easy to just run 206 miles an hour and it looks great and everything [but] the engine can’t operate in that range. … We [would] need to know if we need [to expect] 9500 RPM and need to re-develop everything we have.”
NASCAR didn’t want the engine builders to have to do that, especially with the fact they haven’t competed yet with the fuel injection system.
Teams don’t have options as far as the basics of the system, which costs about $25,000 each. McLaren Electronic Systems makes the electric control units for the system, while the sensors are made by Freescale Semiconductor and throttles made by Holley.
White said he didn’t see any manufacturer with a distinct advantage and it could be three months before anyone gets a true sense of any benefit to one manufacturer over another.
“Overall evaluation of the performance is difficult down here because everybody is on different agendas,” said Penske Racing competition director Travis Geisler. “Until we show up and race and everyone brings their A game to the table, it’s hard to say. I think we’re OK where we are with EFI. We’re working on it.”
The test last week also brought to light some fuel injection rules:
• Teams have the option of whether to use an electric or cable fuel pump. The Fords are using a cable while other manufacturers are using electric fuel pumps. NASCAR also recently increased the number of electric lift pumps inside the fuel tank from one to two – making it easier to fuel the car while it is on heavy banking.
• If teams have problems in race conditions, they will not be allowed to plug their computers into the system on pit road. They will have to go to the garage. NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton said it would be a safety issue to have teams plug into the systems on pit road.
• Teams (as well as NASCAR) will be allowed to tap into the information throughout the race weekend. After each race weekend, NASCAR will distribute information on all teams’ maps.
“We'll share everybody's maps at the conclusion of a race to help everybody accelerate their programs and just to employ our competitors as some of our watchdogs,” NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Director John Darby said, “because at the end of the day they're all going to be pretty close, and if we've got eyes looking at what those tunes were and can pick out an area that doesn't look right, then it gives us an easier path to go back and more closely scrutinize what's going on inside.”
SceneDaily.com • 2012 NASCAR Hall of Fame: Richie Evans was ‘King’ of the Modifieds
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