NASCAR set to use unleaded fuel in 2008

NASCAR set to use unleaded fuel in 2008

Official Release
January 21, 2006
05:11 PM EST (22:11 GMT)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- NASCAR on Friday announced that a special unleaded fuel has been developed and will be used by the start of the 2008 season as a result of its partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and its fuel supplier, Sunoco.

"We've been back and forth to the drawing board for several years to find an unleaded fuel that is compatible with NASCAR engines. NASCAR congratulates Sunoco and is proud of the progress it made on developing a fuel that works in NASCAR engines," said Gary Nelson, NASCAR's vice president of research and development.

NASCAR tested a number of possible alternative fuels in recent years, but none that didn't cause engine problems. NASCAR tested an unleaded product in its NASCAR Busch Series in the late 1990s. However, the tests were unsatisfactory and required the sanctioning body to conduct further research. Other fuel solutions were incompatible and led to engine failure.

The unleaded fuel, Sunoco 260 GTX, will be used in Nextel Cup, Busch and Craftsman Truck events. Nelson also said it is already being used in the Grand American road racing series. NASCAR began testing the fuel last fall at its Research & Development Center in Concord, N.C.

"Sunoco came up with a formula that really seems to do the job," Nelson told The New York Times. "It does a very good job inside the engine."

The racing series has used high-octane leaded fuel for decades, but has been testing a new fuel for a few months, the newspaper said. NASCAR has been searching for an alternative for years, even though it is exempt from the 1970 Clean Air Act -- which required all automobiles to use unleaded fuel.

Still, NASCAR was criticized by advocacy groups for its continued use of leaded fuel.

The move followed an appeal by the advocacy group Clean Air Watch to the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday to begin testing the air quality for lead at NASCAR events," the Times reported.

"It sounds like it's a step to bring NASCAR into the 21st century with stopping use of an old-century fuel," said Frank O'Donnell, executive director of Clean Air Watch.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.