October 6, 2004

by Ron Felix

For years, any racer driving a small block Chevrolet knows if he crashes, right front first, either into another car or making contact with a wall, there's a possibility of fire. Ask any racer and he'll tell you it's the one fear most of them have.

The problem is the location of the Chevrolet fuel pumps. The pumps are located on the lower right hand side of the engine blocks and are easily knocked off or broken during a collision. It almost always results in a fire, similar to the one Jeff Burton was involved in at Dover two weeks ago. The engine is still running, the pump assembly is cracked or broken, but still spewing and feeding a gasoline fire.

Also for years, drivers and crew chief's have complained about this danger -- but the complaints have fallen on deaf ears.

The 2003 NASCAR rules book states that all fuel pumps be located in their respective stock location. This year it's a different story. Now there is an alternative to that placement.

Gary Nelson, NASCAR's director of research and development, has been working on a remote fuel pump. It's been approved but not all competitors were aware that NASCAR had approved the device.

"What we have done is, we've allowed a remote fuel pump to be put on the cars in a different location," explains Nelson, "They can have a cable driven fuel pump in a remote location. If the teams run a stock fuel pump in has to be in a stock location. It's a part of the evolution of the rules. The Chevrolet teams have the option of using them or not."

Richard Childress wasn't aware of the rule that allowed a remote fuel pump to be installed in the Chevrolets.

"I'm not as involved with cars as I used to be," says Childress, "If I was we'd have (remote) mechanical fuel pumps on them. They have a pump now that's driven off of the oil belt and that seems to me to be the way to go. The old fuel pump locations were kind of dangerous, I used to run them in the modifieds and stuff but I need to look back into that. There may be a reason that we haven't, but we need to take a look into it.

Childress then called in one of his engine builders to explain the situation. RCR Assistant Engine shop manager Danny Lawrence explained what they've been working on.

"We have looked at a gear driven pump," Lawrence said, "You run a cable from the oil pump back to the top of the fuel cell and it picks the fuel up -- so the gears are actually above the fuel cell. The drawback is: when it loses its prime it takes forever to pull the fuel back up to it. As you go up, a No. 10 line takes like a minute-forty seconds. If you ever run out of gas, you're in trouble. I hear the Hendrick teams are working on something but at this point, nobody's raced one -- yet."

"We're still looking at check valves and all that other stuff," Lawrence explained further, "They're looking at electric fuel pumps, and that is the way to do it. If your car turns upside down, your motor could still be running and the fuel pump, as long as the oil pump is turning, the bad thing about it is -- you have to have a cable that goes from the rear of the car all the way to the front of the car. There's drawbacks to everyone of them. A lot of people have tested it."

"We've tested it -- had it at the race track three different times and we tested it for two days in Kansas last week. The losing the prime thing is our major concern. You can run a battery dead trying to get the fuel back to the carburetor. That's kind of hard to give up -- that kind of time."

Greg Zippadelli, crew chief for Tony Stewart's No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet, says it's been in the works for a while.

"It's something that we've looked at and have tested," Zipadelli said, "I'd say it won't be that long before we have it ready for use in our cars."

Electric fuel pumps have also had their share of troubles over the years and NASCAR still doesn't allow them to be used in the Nextel Cup or Busch Series, in any location.

It may be a while before the bugs are worked out of the remote pumps, but it's definitely a step in the right direction. Some teams are working toward making a safer car as well as a fast car. It's a matter of balance and priorities between speed and safety for the teams.

A driver's life should be much more important than a few moments lost -- trying to refire an engine. It should be more important that running a battery down. Most teams carry a backup battery onboard the cars anyway.

You can contact us at.. Insider Racing News