NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
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CUP: Fuel Injection Scrambles Strategies
Better fuel mileage will be one of the benefits of NASCAR’s move to fuel-injected engines…
Mike Hembree  |  Posted February 06, 2012   Charlotte, NC
After several preliminary tests, NASCAR Sprint Cup teams are making the full switch to Electronic Fuel Injection for the 2012 season. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
For months, major NASCAR teams have been tinkering with this new thing called fuel injection, a system that has been a normal part of street cars for many years but one that will be new at the top level of stock car racing this year.

NASCAR finally is leaving the prehistoric carburetor behind, and one of the biggest challenges of the new season will be reaching a level of confidence with the new EFI system as quickly as possible.

The shift isn’t expected to be dramatic, in part because teams and manufacturer engineers have been elbow-deep in the new systems for a long time. Still, there will be the little pesky things, some of which won’t become apparent until drivers are in the heat of competition. And those little things can lose the Daytona 500.

“We’ve been used to the carburetor for so long,” said Jimmy Makar, senior vice president of racing operations at Joe Gibbs Racing. “We know every little aspect of it – what to look out for, how to make sure you don’t get yourself in trouble. There are still a lot of unknowns with EFI. We have to work through them.”

To be prepared for as many eventualities as possible, teams have tried to create problems during on-track testing and in their shops to see how the new units respond.

“We can simulate a race weekend on dynos at the shop, and we have a lot of time on these engines at the desert proving grounds,” said Rick Mann, a production manager at Earnhardt Childress Racing Engines. “We have some of the units with sensors that have 5,000 miles on them. Still, sensor life is a big question.

“It will be a little bit of a learning experience, but there’s a lot of backup in the system. And it’s not a case where a problem with a small piece will be catastrophic.”

A bonus of the switch to EFI will be the probability of improved fuel mileage, although the extent of that positive will depend on how teams set up the systems.
A panel discusses Electronic Fuel Injection during the NASCAR Preview Presented by Sprint on January 21, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo: Getty Images)

“Fuel injection is a marriage between power and fuel economy,” said Tony Gibson, crew chief for Ryan Newman. “The whole idea is trying to put the two together. The biggest thing we’re going to have to learn is that when these things are out of gas, we are OUT. It’s not like you can slosh it back and forth and pick up more.

“It can be really tough to get these things refired when they run out. So, how far do we push it? We have to think about that when we’re planning strategy on fuel mileage.”

Particularly in longer races, the idea that the new system will produce better fuel mileage probably will encourage teams to try fewer pit stops, especially later in the year when more is known about mileage numbers.

“It’s going to open up windows at some races,” Gibson said. “If you can go five or six or 10 laps longer [between pit stops] than last year, where does that put our windows in a 400- or 500-mile race?”

Rodney Childers, crew chief for the Michael Waltrip Racing No. 55 team, said extra fuel mileage might be particularly noticed at tracks with better surfaces.

“I’m thinking mileage will change drastically from the beginning of the year to the end,” he said. “Everybody is going to learn how to take advantage of it. You’re going to pit the least amount of times you can and try to stretch the mileage, and places where the tire wear is good will make that easier.”

The plan at Daytona, said Darian Grubb, new crew chief for Denny Hamlin, is to be certain everybody working with the system is up to speed.

“Everybody will have to know things like what happens if you have a fuel pump go bad,” Grubb said. “We need to be sure we’re all brushed up on procedures for anything that might happen.”

Makar said troubleshooting the EFI units “will be completely different. It’s all brand new. What do you change? What’s the hierarchy for where you go first? All that is an unknown right now. Crew chiefs are going to have their hands full figuring that stuff out when it happens.”

In part because of the unknowns, RCR will have two extra EFI troubleshooters on the ground at Daytona, and other teams are likely to follow suit, particularly in the season’s early weeks.

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
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