At Small Tracks, High Fuel Prices Put Racers in a Pinch

[Don]

At Small Tracks, High Fuel Prices Put Racers in a Pinch

By JOHN BRANCH: NY Times.com
Published: June 3, 2008
NEW EGYPT, N.J. — The cost of high-octane fuel for the racecars is up to $8.25 a gallon. And that is not the worst of it.

iMost racers at a track like New Egypt Speedway are not supported by large sponsors; they do their own work on their cars.

The truck-and-trailer rigs that log long miles to haul the cars to tracks generally have miles-to-the-gallon averages in the single digits. And with diesel costing roughly $5 a gallon, about double what it was a year ago, the escalating price of fuel is altering the already skimpy economics of lower-tier racing, the type that takes place on the half-mile dirt oval at New Egypt Speedway and at most tracks across the country.


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/03/sp...html?th&emc=th

[Sharroll Celby]

One fix for the racers could be to detune their engines to run on the (kinda) cheaper 91 octane pump gas.
It would all depend on how bad they wanted to go racing.

[HI Cobra]

They did that here in Hawaii to try to level the playing field at Hawaii
Raceway - but then they closed the track down shortly there after so
it really didn't matter anyway.

[Ron61]

Here they buy their fuel in 55 gallon barrels and haul it to the track but I don't know what that costs. My last barrel was over two years ago and for the first time in years it had went up. And then it had jumped by over $1 a gallon. I think I may call the supplier I use and see what it is per 55 gallon barrel now if that long of a number will go over the telephone.

Ron

[Wes Tausend]

...

There was a time I wanted to buy a motorhome so that I could pull a car trailer to a distant show or tracktime out of state.

I might still buy a motorhome, the price is right, but I won't be going too far with it.

Another dream dashed.


...

[Silverback51]

It's not just the small guys at small tracks either.

Last week at the NHRA races, they only had 15 Top Fuel cars. At a couple other races they only had 15, but were able to bring in a local car to fill the field.

A few years ago they would have 32 plus cars competing for the 16 Pro Stock qualifing positions. Now they are down to the low 20's in car count.

Times are bad for a lot of people.

[Don]

"Last week at the NHRA races, they only had 15 Top Fuel cars. At a couple other races they only had 15, but were able to bring in a local car to fill the field ".

It was also mentioned that there is a shortage of the Fuel being used which has another impact on participation

The Sunoco race fuel used in the top three NASCAR series, does anyone know whether the fuel is provided free or ?

[Ron61]

Don,

When Sunoco took over from Philips 66 as the NASACAR fuel provider it was all free. But I am not sure that it is now. If you listen to the broadcasters the past year it seems every other word out of their mouth is Sunoco Racing Gas. They never used to mention the gas except that the cars had to make a stop to fuel up. I have looked on the NASCAR site for a long time and I once saw a small blurb that they may have to start paying for fuel about the time they stated talking about going to unleaded fuel.

Ron

[427 S/O]

I once read that total fuel used for racing in the U.S., amounted to what one average gas station would pump in a year?.

[427 S/O]

Should have read, total racing fuel used in one year...sorry...

[DAVID GAGNARD]

Originally Posted by Don

"Last week at the NHRA races, they only had 15 Top Fuel cars. At a couple other races they only had 15, but were able to bring in a local car to fill the field ".

It was also mentioned that there is a shortage of the Fuel being used which has another impact on participation

The Sunoco race fuel used in the top three NASCAR series, does anyone know whether the fuel is provided free or ?

Yes,it's free to the race teams, that's part of the sponsorship package..............

Bought some last year in Nashville at the NASCAR track there....seems whatever fuel was left over after the race was left in the track fuel tank-----for free----and they sold it to us for about 5 bucks a gallon.........

David

[Ron61]

David,

I think it was early this year that I was watching one of the practice sessions and most of the cars were having problems with running well. They got to checking and found they had left some fuel in a tank and it had set so long that when they filled it with new fuel it was all contaminated. I believe they said they had to pump that whole tank out and dispose of it. That had to have been an expensive waste.

Ron

[DAVID GAGNARD]

Ron;

Yep, they had problems before, also at one Cup event some cars ran badly, they found water in the tank......race gas for NASCAR is probably MORE prone to comtaminants and water than at your local station down the road, simply becuase of how long is may be stored and transported to the varouis tracks........

David

[Ron61]

David,

I used to buy my race gas in 55 gallon barrels and it never went up like the gas at the stations did, but was always higher. Then the last barrel I got it had really gone out of sight and I asked them what happened and they said the company had just raised the price. I still have about 15 gallons in my last barrel and am afraid to find out what it costs now. But because there wasn't such a demand for it, the price used to stay pretty stable.

Ron

[DAVID GAGNARD]

Ron;

I do the same thing and know what you mean...
Got a buddy that is an old Mustang guy and an EXXON distributor,he lets me have my race gas at his cost as long as I buy it by the drum....
Last time I got gas from him was a little over a year ago, bought 2 55 gal. drums of 100 octane low lead gas, my cost $3.25 per gal.......hate to see what it is now, good thing I still have one un-opened drum left, should last me almost one race season......

I'm guessing the same gas today would be around $5.50 per gal. or more.........
I hear 110 octane leaded is over 8 bucks a gal.,depending on where you get it......

David

[richardferguson]

Originally Posted by DAVID GAGNARD

Ron;

I do the same thing and know what you mean...
Got a buddy that is an old Mustang guy and an EXXON distributor,he lets me have my race gas at his cost as long as I buy it by the drum....
Last time I got gas from him was a little over a year ago, bought 2 55 gal. drums of 100 octane low lead gas, my cost $3.25 per gal.......hate to see what it is now, good thing I still have one un-opened drum left, should last me almost one race season......

I'm guessing the same gas today would be around $5.50 per gal. or more.........
I hear 110 octane leaded is over 8 bucks a gal.,depending on where you get it......

David

That's still only $123.75 more per 55 gal drum. There are plenty more expensive things to think of when you go racing, especially if a drum lasts one season. Nevertheless, it all adds up.
I guess my point is that you'd be on a worn shoestring if the price of gas was going to put you off the track.
Richard

[DAVID GAGNARD]

Richard;

I agree, the price of race gas is small compared to the price of race tires or an engine rebuild!!!!!!!!!! the tires I use are about 900 bucks a set and I run them 5 to 6 races,more if I can, better funded racers use the same tires for no more than 3 races, I wish I could also......

The price of diesel now is more of an expense to me than anything else....Around here, $4.60 gal is the going rate this week....last road trip (VIR) was about 3,000 miles, getting about 14.5 mpg towing in my Super Duty. I spent a tad over 600 bucks just for fuel in the truck on that trip, at todays prices, fuel would be about a thousand bucks for the same trip, maybe more depending on fuel prices elswhere....

I used to do 3 or 4 "road trips" a year, mainly to SAAC and MCA events, I've cut that back to 1 or 2 a year now....Not just fuel prices, but everything else that goes with it, hotel room,food,entry fees.....The VIR/SAAC trip took a total of seven days, 2 day drive each way plus the convention and when you add in food and hotel rooms for 6 nights/seven days and other related expenses, well, you don't want to know what that trip cost me and neither does my wife!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I still race a 6 race series here in my home state, track is 2 hours away and they are "day" races....things start up at 8 am and I'm loading the car by 4 pm.........

David

[Don]

Sunoco Maximal Leaded 116 - 55 Gallon Drum = $520

http://www.buyracegas.com/catalog.as...&DeptID=238426

http://www.buyracegas.com/catalog.as...00790&detail=1

[DAVID GAGNARD]

When I bought my 100 octane gas, it was about $160.00 per drum, ball park, can't remember the exact price.....Sunoco's 100 octane is now $400.00 per drum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It will not stop the hard core racers, but may slow them down and keep some new guys from going into racing.............

Some ole NASCAR guy said many years ago,and I quote:" to make a small fortune in racing, one needs to start with a large fortune"...................how true and the price of fuel is not the only thing that hurts...........

David

[Excaliber]

I think the article missed the point, it's not so much the cost of the RACE GAS itself, it's the cost of the pump gas required to get your CAR from the shop/home TO the track itself. If the track is 500 miles away and your towing the car and getting 14-15 mpg THAT transportation fuel cost is what is hitting you hard. If your taking a motor home, figure 8-10 mpg for the trip. It's the TRAVEL that's killing these guys!