Nextel Cup going to unleaded fuel in 2007
By Bob Pockrass
Saturday, October 21, 2006
BAMBI MATTILA/NASCAR SCENE /
MARTINSVILLE, Va. - NASCAR will make the transition to unleaded fuel one year earlier than previously announced as it plans to have all three series run almost the entire 2007 season on unleaded fuel. The lone exception, involving the Nextel Cup Series, will be the season-opening Daytona 500.
Crew chiefs said Friday at Martinsville Speedway they were informed of the decision this week, and a NASCAR official confirmed the move.
Busch Series and Craftsman Truck Series teams have tested the unleaded fuel at several events this year. Teams have reported few problems with the Sunoco fuel.
"It will be fine," Richard Childress Racing Assistant Engine Department Manager Danny Lawrence said. "We've race-simulated it. We're definitely going to keep working on it through our research and development department to make sure we won't have any issues to run 500 miles.
"The way everything has looked, it looks like it is not going to be a big issue."
The fuel already had been used this year in the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series in addition to the NASCAR events.
"We run a lot of unleaded in a lot of our grass-roots programs," Toyota Racing Development Senior Vice President Lee White said. "We have a lot of experience with it. We have been running it in our truck engines for about half of the season off and on.
"To be honest with you, a lot of the durability work on the new Cup motor has been done with unleaded fuel already, so we're not really concerned with it."
