August 28, 2002

From the basement of NASCAR located in an old dusty book of theory comes the latest unveiling. "The 13 gal Fuel Cell". Just when you thought the boys in the red trailer had the white surrender flag out, they come back with a sneak attack.

ATL, maker of 90% of all fuel cells (gas tank) used in Winston Cup racing offers a metal tank that is coated inside and out with a rubber compound. Located in the tank is a bladder made of Kevlar. The bladder is actually stuffed in the tank through a small opening on top and is sealed by a check valve which offers twenty four grade eight bolts. The inner portion of the bladder is noted as having soft safety foam that keeps the fuel from sloshing around and works to suppress explosions. The current fuel cell will hold 22 gallons of 110 octane racing fuel and weighs about thirty four pounds.

High speeds coupled with heavy packs of traffic as well as overall fan safety at Talladega and Daytona have caused NASCAR to attempt several control measures in the past. We are all aware of the current restrictor plate program together with several aero packages that have been tried but show little promise. The aero adjustment process has proved futile to say the least with cars running very tightly grouped at speeds that approach 200 MPH.

With ideas running thin and NASCAR searching for answers the boys in the red trailer will offer up the smaller fuel cell at our two biggest speedway venues. The cars at Talladega have been running nearly 50 green flag laps between pit stops. The teams currently use hand held fuel cans that hold 11 gallons of fuel each and usually introduce fuel from two of these cans into the car on a designated pit stop event. That process will undergo change with the introduction of the smaller cell. The teams will still have to use one complete 11 gal can of fuel together with a partial splash from the second container in an attempt at fueling the 13 gallon fuel cell.

Herein lies the problem that we have seen . When the cars pit under green flag conditions most of you have noticed that the running order becomes jumbled. Your favorite driver that was leading the race suddenly finds himself in 15th position by virtue of the pit stop process. This shaking up of the field is what NASCAR is looking for in their attempt at spreading the cars out on the track. It usually takes a calculated number of laps for the field to return to its original order before the green flag stops occurred. The introduction of smaller fuel cells will keep the field jumbled all day and leads us to the point we are trying to make here and that is "Welcome to MATHCAR."

This whole experiment with the smaller fuel cell is actually nothing more than a math formula. NASCAR knows how many laps the cars have stayed jumbled in the past and have decided through testing that the smaller size fuel cell will spread the cars out and offer a boring race for the fans as well as suggesting that the fastest car may not win the race that day.

For every action by NASCAR there is an equal and opposite reaction from the teams. Instead of having to hire a new shock and tire guru the teams will now look no further than your local accountant in an effort to thwart this math equation. When to pit will be the question and we are likely to see some strange reactions from the teams. We look for short pitting and perhaps a pit stop within five laps of the start of the race as a possible way to break the math chain. Team cars will have to work together and many deals will be made in the spotting tower in an attempt at keeping the cars together and able to catch the draft.

With this math formula in place it is easy to realize that the powerful speedway teams may not win the race. It is also plausible to think that a driver who qualified well back in the field can win the race if his accountant gets the math right. The fans will be hard pressed to keep up with whom is where on the track at any given time knowing that the cars will always be jumbled.

We keep coming back to the idea that the drivers and teams were looking for throttle response in an effort to be able to pass on these restrictor plate tracks. We further believe that NASCAR has its head in the sand with this idea and we look to the race fans for further comment on this calculated venture from the boys in the red trailer.

You can contact Joe at: Insider Racing News