USA TODAY International Edition
Green flag
New Sprint Cup injection system stirs little debate,
NASCAR drivers, crewmembers and officials haven’t talked much about the debut of electronic fuel injection — perhaps the biggest sea change in the Sprint Cup Series for 2012.
Don’t take the silence as an indication it won’t have an impact this year.
“That’s still really, really big news for us,” series director John Darby said. “One of the reasons we’re not hearing a lot about it is because of all of the legwork that’s been done and the testing before we got here. Most of those problems have worked themselves out, and, other than the drivers starting to feel the difference and understanding the operational difference of fuel injection, it’s been pretty seamless.”
After a 63- year run with carburetors as the fuel- delivery system for its eight- cylinder, push- rod engines, NASCAR’S transition into fuel injection ( which essentially maximizes horsepower with the least amount of fuel) will have a negligible impact on the aesthetics of a race. Using an electronic control unit and sensors to determine and regulate the fuel mixture won’t change the pitch or sound of the engines, nor will it affect their performance capabilities.
But a project more than two years in the making could have major ramifications on how drivers and teams glean information about their performance. Though it won’t be akin to the myriad telemetry data that is gathered in testing, crew chiefs and engine technicians will use laptop computers to access data that indicate where drivers are lifting off the throttle.
“That is exponentially more information than the crew chiefs, drivers and crews have had — ever,” Toyota Racing Development President Lee White said. “I could easily see Jimmie Johnson coming into the garage, and the data gets ( transmitted) to his ipad, and he sits there with his ipad on his steering wheel looking at data, with his numbers laid over ( those of teammates) Jeff ( Gordon) and ( Dale Earnhardt Jr.) and Kasey Kahne. He’s never had that. It’s always been the 5 inches between his ears and his ability to communicate that to his crew chief.
“I think we’re looking at a new era, because the driver has always been the computer and some had communication skills and some didn’t. Now you have a real practical tool, and the people who learn to use it quickest and best are going to show.”
Teams won’t be plugging into their fuel- injection systems during races ( unless they are forced behind the wall with a major engine problem), but NASCAR will share everyone’s data after each event. “That will help everybody accelerate their programs and employ our competitors as some of our watchdogs,” Darby said.
It might take time for drivers to get comfortable. During mid- January testing at Daytona International Speedway, driver Greg Biffle practiced restarting the engine, which is trickier now than with a carburetor.
“That’s going to be the biggest factor, is guys stalling on pit road and not being able to refire their cars,” driver Denny Hamlin said. “That’s going to be an issue for a little while.
“Eventually, after five to six races, you won’t hear much about it.”