NASCAR TO BURN MOONSHINE IN 2011!

Welcome back folks. I would like to report on yet another development regarding NASCAR's recent efforts to improve their public perception by lowering the organization's carbon footprint. Beginning in 2011, NASCAR will begin the use of an ethanol blend fuel... specifically, SUNOCO E-15.

In my previous post, I covered the inevitable shift to Electronic Fuel Injection. In this post I will attempt to explain the ramifications of this new development regarding the SUNOCO E-15

The E-15 fuel will not be 100% organic. There will still be a considerable amount of fossil fuel being burned in the engines... eighty five percent to be exact. As you know... a race car has no real emissions systems like the cars we drive to work. The fossil fuels in E-15 will of course still create substantial emissions of hydrocarbon byproducts such as carbon dioxide. However, this will still be significant improvement over what has been used in the past.

Now on to the facts...

First, the ethanol itself will come from American Grown Corn and will be processed in a newly constructed facility in Fulton, NY. Note: This ethanol product is distilled the same way the original Moonshiners did way back in the early days of NASCAR racing! Essentially, ethanol is Moonshine, or Grain Alcohol. (Please see cartoon at top of page.)

Second, the ethanol will then be transported to the SUNOCO fuel blending facility in Marcus Hook, PA where it will be added to conventional high octane gasoline.

Third, the final blended fuel product will then be transported to the tracks where it will be dispensed by tanker trucks for the teams to use in their fuel cells.

My understanding is that the fuel cans the race teams use to refuel the cars may go through some design changes, but nothing definitive on this as of now. E-15 has apparently been in the testing stage for several months, and teams are reporting a horsepower increase!

Now for today’s Toad Tech Tip…

After you pump gas into your car... always insure that your gas cap is tightened correctly. Many people do not realize that a loose gas cap can result in check engine warning light.

This is known as "EVAP code" in the auto repair business and could result in a wasted trip to the repair shop. Your gas tank along with the cap, are part of a closed fuel system. Gas vapors are scavenged and stored in a vapor canister and then are later used by the engine when the purge solenoid opens at specific intervals.

When you have a loose gas cap, this system ceases to work correctly, and harmful fuel vapors can be released into the vehicle and/or atmosphere.

Until next time...

HAPPY HALOWEEN!

~Art~

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ELECTRONIC FUEL INJECTION FOR NASCAR!

Hello everyone...

It has been awhile since I last updated this blog... I have been trying to do some illustration work on another NASCAR related website called Infield Parking. They have been very supportive of my work so far, and they now offer a profile skin for their members with a PIT ROAD TOAD graphics theme.

I'll have to tell you... this business of becoming a Racing Cartoonist ain't easy! It will be up to folks like (you) the readers here to make that possible. If you like my work... please tell others about it... maybe even buy some of my stickers from the on-line store.

Now... on to racing! As you will see in the cartoon above... I have featured Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI). It is fairly common knowledge that NASCAR is going to introduce EFI sometime in 2012.

You may be wondering what is EFI... and why is needed now? Well... the car you drive to work is more than likely Fuel Injected. NASCAR has been using carburetors since the beginning of the sport. In terms of automotive advancements, the carburetor was pretty much nonexistent and antiquated by the late 1980's. Fuel Injection was the norm for Detroit from that point forward.

Fuel Injection does exactly what it's name implies... it literally injects atomized fuel spray into the combustion chamber(s) usually via the intake valve(s). The mechanical process of fuel injection takes place in the Injector(s). The injector is basically an electronically actuated valve.

Making the system work requires some sophisticated engineering in terms of telling the injector when to activate. This where the ECU, or Engine Control Unit comes into play. Basically... it is a computer that runs algorithms based on data sent from several sensors to insure that the engine is getting the correct amount of fuel at the correct time.

The ECU is the brains of fuel injection. There is concern in the NASCAR community that Race Teams will attempt to alter the software in these units. This tampering could reportedly lead to advantages such as traction control.

For fuel efficiency and emission standards EFI was a much better choice for the automotive industry. However... for the folks who raced for a living, the carburetor still ruled. NASCAR is able to easily inspect the carburetors used today, especially the ones with restrictor plates.

Now, we have a whole new dynamic coming into play regarding the public perception and marketing of NASCAR. First, with attendance down at the tracks and TV ratings diminishing... there is an urgent need to re-invent the sport. The public is now very conscientious of the movement toward "green" technologies in this country.

It is my opinion that the movement toward EFI, and alternative fuels in NASCAR will not only create a cleaner more environmentally friendly sport... but possibly lead to new technologies that will enhance our daily lives.

Fuel injection will not necessarily make the cars faster or slower. My understanding is that fuel mileage will improve along with the torque curve for the existing V-8 engines. What it will do is make the cars more environmentally friendly, and much closer to what you and I can purchase at the dealership!

Until next time...

~Art~

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NASCAR ENGINES... AHH TOAD'S VIEW!

With the recent punishment of Carl Long by NASCAR still fresh in my mind, I decided to dedicate an entire series of blog posts and cartoons that will hopefully help explain exactly what a NASCAR V-8 engine is, how it works, and what the specifications required by NASCAR are.

This is the first part of this series, and we will now address the... ENGINE BLOCK.

The Engine Block, or Piston Engine Cylinder Block is the first and main component needed in the assembly of a V-8 engine. These metal castings provide the physical configuration for the term V-8. That configuration being that two opposing halves of the block each containing four cylinders is arranged so that the bore angle for each half makes a “V” when viewed from the back or front in blueprints. This angle is generally 90 degrees.

The NASCAR Race Teams all receive their cast iron engine blocks, and cylinder heads from their respective automotive sponsor. Example: Hendrick Motorsports is a Chevrolet sponsored team... thus all of their engine blocks, and cylinder heads are provided by Chevrolet. All other manufactures... Ford, Dodge, and Toyota, all do the same for their teams.

These engine blocks are based on engines designed in the 1960’s during the muscle car era. NASCAR has imposed a 358.000 cubic inch displacement limit on all of these engines.

Now... to understand displacement... you must first consider that there are eight cylinder bores in the block. The displacement is directly related to the volume of each cylinder on a multiple of eight. This is where cylinder bore comes into play... to be within the rules the bore may not exceed 4.185 inches. The bore is the inside diameter of each cylinder (See cartoon). Another contributing factor to displacement is stroke. Stroke is the distance the piston actually travels up and down in each cylinder. NASCAR limits this to 3.25 inches.

Without going into the math... bore, stroke, and number of cylinders are the definitive elements in this equation. The TOAD has expressed a desire to simplify some of this stuff in each post, so he will address “bore” in this one. As you will observe above... Professor P.R. TOAD demonstrates the physics of cylinder displacement and bore on a typical NASCAR V-8 engine!

Please study the above cartoon diagram regarding what cylinder bore is.

~Drawer-Dude~

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EARNHARDT... INTIMIDATOR'S GRAND-SON RISIN’!!

One of the more interesting stories that I have been following recently is the upcoming "legacy driver"... nineteen year old Jeffrey Earnhardt.

For those who may not know of Jeffrey, he is the son of Dale Junior’s half brother Kerry. This makes Dale Earnhardt Junior, Jeffrey’s uncle. This also means that the late Dale Earnhardt Senior is his grandfather, and racing legend Ralph Earnhardt is his great grandfather!

Now... assuming that the old adage that genetic talent often skips a generation is true... Jeffrey could very well be the next big thing in racing! He has eerie similarities to his grandfather Dale Senior, both in speech, and mannerisms. While not quite ready for the bushy mustache... he would certainly be able to seal the appearance deal in a few years!

He was born in, and grew up in Mooresville, North Carolina, also known as RACE CITY USA. Mooresville, NC is where Dale Senior chose live on a multi-acre farm, complete with luxurious log home, and personal fishing pond. This farm is actually located behind the D.E.I. complex in Mooresville on Rt. 3. Both Kerry, and Dale Junior lived on this complex over the years.

Young Jeffrey cut his teeth in the Hornet Division at Wythe Raceway in Rural Retreat, Virginia where he scored three feature wins, and ultimately ended up the top five in division points. This accomplishment earned him Rookie of the Year! He later went on to race in the Sportsman division in Radford, VA at the Motor Mile Speedway where he finished in the top 10 in standings.

He later went on to race in the NASCAR Camping World East Series with several select appearances in the Nationwide Series in 2008 driving for D.E.I. as a development driver.

However, his inexplicable replacement by Aric Almirola at Dover in September of 2008 triggered speculation among NASCAR fans that Teresa Earnhardt had allegedly been involved in the decision in an attempt to hamper his career. Almirola, incidentally ended up winning this race!

In 2009, Jeffrey will be racing in the Nationwide Series for Rick Ware Racing. Unfortunately, he failed to qualify for his first event on May 30^th of this year after crashing his car at Dover in practice. Even with this setback... Jeffrey will run a progressive schedule in the Nationwide Series this year, and his schedule will include a total of 7 races in the series. In 2010, he will prepare for the Raybestos Rookie Of The Year campaign. (Source wikipedia)

I ask all true NASCAR FANS to keep a close eye on this young man’s career... if it turns out like I think it will... you’ll think the BLACK THREE is runnin’ again’!

GITCHA SUM!!

~Drawer-Dude~

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