from Wikipedia
Environmental impact
Fuel consumption
According to NASCAR, about 6,000 US gallons of fuel are consumed during a typical NEXTEL Cup weekend. [11] For the 2006 season, which includes 36 points races, the total for the season would be 216,000 US gallons. One environmental critic recently estimated NASCAR's total fuel consumption across all series at 2 million US gallons (7.57 million liters) of gas for one season; [12] however, the methodology used has been a point of dispute.
At race speeds, NEXTEL Cup cars get 2 to 5 miles per gallon.Consumption under caution can be estimated at 14-18 mpg, based on comparable engines generally available to the public. Interestingly, the rate of fuel consumption tends to be the same regardless of the actual speeds of the cars, as teams change gear ratios for each race to ensure that the engine always operates in its optimum power band; however, the fuel mileage will vary for each race, depending on the maximum speeds attained.
Emissions and pollution
The consumption figures above provide no insight on environmental impact in terms of emissions. NASCAR vehicles are generally unregulated by the EPA, and in particular, they have no mufflers, catalytic converters or other emissions control devices. However, some local short tracks which run under NASCAR sanction require certain emissions control devices. Many short tracks run mufflers in compliance with noise ordinances at some tracks; in the early years of the Craftsman Truck Series, some races were held at venues which required mufflers, a requirement still used in some Busch East, AutoZone West, and Whelen Modified races.
Use of lead additives in gasoline
NASCAR continued to use lead additives in its race gasoline until the 2007 Auto Club 500 at California Speedway on February 25,[16] which led to concerns about the health of those exposed to the fumes of the cars (fans and residents living near the race tracks). Lead is a well-known environmental risk, but the performance needs of race engines (in particular, the high compression ratios) once made it difficult to switch to unleaded fuel.
In the US, the commercial use of leaded fuel has been phased out since the early 1970's, when catalytic converters were required to be installed on new cars, making unleaded fuel a requirement (leaded fuel will destroy a catalytic converter). The sale of leaded fuel has been mostly banned in the US since 1996, but exemptions exist for auto racing, as well as aircraft, farm and marine equipment.
NASCAR eventually took steps to eliminate the need for leaded fuels. In 1998, NASCAR and then-fuel supplier Tosco (Now ConocoPhilips, the company who produces the 76 Fuel) conducted an unsuccessful test of unleaded fuel in selected Busch Series races. In July 2006, in the first in a four-week test run of unleaded fuel, the first race since 1998 to run unleaded gasoline, known as Sunoco 260 GT Plus, the same fuel used in road races, was held during a Busch race at the Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois. The testing in July 2006 was successful with no suspected engine failures or malfunctions from the new fuel. In October 2006, NASCAR stated its intention to transition to unleaded fuel in all three top series (Craftsman, Busch and Nextel Cup) in 2007, with the exception of the Daytona 500.
During the first race in which unleaded fuel was used, there were a number of engine failures during the race, leading many to believe that the unleaded fuel is to be blamed. The drivers who encountered failures include Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Martin Truex Jr. of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. and Kasey Kahne of Evernham Motorsports. The engine failures of both Earnhardt and Truex were attributed in part to the lack of a lead additive, but also to centrifugal force causing improper distribution of oil between the left and right sides of the engine. Evernham Motorsports has not disclosed the reason behind Kahne's engine failure.
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