Cars don't run without gas.
Yes, that's the obvious statement of the century, but it seems that fuel has never been more important to success in the Sprint Cup Series than it has been so far in 2011.
While the outcome of Sunday's Heluva Good! 400 at Michigan didn't come down to which driver had the most gas in the tank, fuel was once again a major storyline thanks to team's continued issues with the self-venting fuel can that was introduced before the start of the 2011 season.
Fuel issues stole a potential top 10 away from Kasey Kahne, who ran out of gas with 45 laps to go after the team didn't get the car full of�gas on the previous pit stop and Kahne didn't get to pit road in time.
Second-place finisher Matt Kenseth's team twice couldn't get the car full of fuel, and if it weren't for a conveniently timed caution on Lap 163, Kenseth would have been forced to stop again before the end of the race while the rest of the field would have been able to stay out.
Kenseth had the same issue at Charlotte, and the problem has plagued Greg Biffle too, most notably at Las Vegas when Biffle had one of the fastest cars at the track. Tony Stewart looked like he could have stolen a win at Kansas two weeks ago, but his team didn't get his car full of fuel and he was forced to pit with less than 10 laps to go.
The new fuel can eliminates the need for the catch can man at the back of the car. However, the nozzle of the can is harder to engage and the fuel takes longer to get into the car. If it's not engaged perfectly, well, all of the fuel doesn't get into the car.
If you're sick of fuel being a storyline, well, it's not going away anytime soon. Sonoma is next and fuel is traditionally an issue because teams start to work fuel mileage backwards from the start of the race to minimize their time spent on pit road. Plus Kentucky, a 1.5-mile track, is in two weeks, and we've already seen fuel decide races at Charlotte and Kansas.
Marisa Coughlan Shanna Moakler Portia de Rossi Jolene Blalock Nichole Robinson
No comments:
Post a Comment