Originally Posted by rj1:
On the whole ethanol thing, I'm not privy to inside information from either USAC or Silver Crown teams, but I am an engineer for a major engine manufacturer, and the main effect of running bio-based fuel compared to normal fuel for us in the past is we had to improve all our seals. Since USAC racing is not having engines run 200000 miles like our end vehicles are, doubt they have to worry about that too much.
With due respect, why are they wasting their time building engines then? Racing is a performance-based sport, that means over time you do all the stuff you mentioned anyway to improve performance. If you think you can just show up with an engine and don't do any development work on it, well, you're going to end up like the drivers with the Lotus engine at the big track and in a sport like USAC where it's an open formula no one's going to buy your engine anyway.
The entire idea that nothing should ever change because it costs people money is equally preposterous. Yes, don't make changes that put everyone out of the sport (the Gold Crown car for example), but this is not one of those. Now if ethanol goes away in a couple years, yeah, you can make that argument in a couple years.
My post was aimed more at the car owner side of thing versus the engine builder side of things. I agree with you in that the engine builders are always pushing the envelope on development and it is not cheap. If they don't they will go out of business as someone else will come along with something that has higher hp/torque/reliability.
I think Racephoto summed it up best in more time needed to sort things out. From my perspective, you have a series that only has 11 races. You have a handfull of teams that will run all 11. Some will only run dirt and some will only run pavement. So, overall you have a very niche series with limited amount of competitors. You now throw in a monkey wrench with the fuel. Get it wrong and burn up the motor. How many teams have the budget to do true testing on dyno and development time with the new fuel system? How many teams can afford to lose a motor? With methonal, you have 30+years of continued development in fuel system on the motors and now you are starting from scratch with ethonal and there is a definite learning curve to the new fuel and fuel system.
Racing has always been a two tiered system. You will always have teams that are at the top of the food chain and a good amount of resources for development and can take a hit if something goes wrong. The second tier teams are out there for the love of the sport and being part of the tradition of the silvercrown cars. These guys have a much harder pill to swallow if they blow up.
We all know racing is not an inexpensive propostion and at any time, you can lose an entire car. I guess my point is in a series that has a limited number of races and competitors the rules should be consistent year to year to encourage continued participation in the sport. I know it is a hot topic right now because it is new and hopefully the transition is smooth to the new fuel and will soon be an after thought.
