Update NHRA Fuel Questions

[terral]

This is just a note to thank all of the racers and friends that have shown me support through emails, phone calls and texts. As I stated in my first posting, I will not respond or answer questions but I have had a number of questions that I will make a statement about. One of the main things being talked about now is the high lead content of the SR-18 Sunoco Fuel. It has a high lead content. After talking to Terry Thompson of Sunoco, he told me that lead and another chemical were being added to the fuel that does not meet the Sunoco spec or the NHRA spec to bring the octane level up to the specifications that Sunoco advertises it to be.

Many racers have noticed this year that I have handed out towels to racers that might have spilled fuel on their hands and the racers may have also noticed that now NHRA is having the person that checks the fuel wear gloves. There is a reason for this. Sunoco has been working all year to get the problem fixed so the fuel will pass and they seem to be doing a good job. Any questions that the racers have should be addressed to NHRA at Indy. There are also questions being asked and have been asked as to why, with all of the problems that SR-18 has had, why has all of the SR-18 passed all of the divisional and national fuel checks this year. Racers have reported many problems to me such as tuning the car, dyno testing and just getting it to pass fuel check. It is common knowledge that the people checking the fuel were told that the SR-18 will pass at all races. With the exception if one of our chemical test failed it, all SR-18 passed all chemical tests this year.

Sunoco has said all year that they don't like the way we test the fuel and has always questioned the way that we have done it. Any questions about this matter should be addressed to NHRA in Indianapolis. There have also been questions about mixing the fuel. I will address this issue. Most everyone now knows about the mess we had at Pomona with the SR-18. I checked all of the fuel myself at Pomona and Phoenix. At Pomona, I was surprised how far off the chart the SR-18 was. I had planned to pass everyone the first qualifying round just because this was a new fuel. Most all of the fuel failed in Competition Eliminator in Q-1. I was told it was on the Internet before we finished running Comp. We didn't DQ anyone.

The Sunoco reps, NHRA top officials and Glen Gray & I had a discussion on this problem. I was told to get it fixed and fix it now. Sunoco was blaming me for not checking it right. All of the other Sunoco fuels as well as other companies checked just fine with the same meter. I have always mixed fuel to see what would pass the meter if someone was cheating. This is how I catch people, knowing how it is done. I quickly mixed some C-25 with the SR-18 and got the right combination to pass the meter. I told the NHRA top officials and Glen Gray about the quick fix. This was to be used at the points race next week and until Sunoco got the problem fixed after a couple of races. I got the okay for this temporary fix. I was also okayed to tell Russ Bradford, the Sunoco rep at Pomona. He then passed this information to the racers. By the time we got to Phoenix, the fuel sold at the track was right up to spec and for the most part has been since. This was a temporary fix only for a couple of races and by this time Sunoco was working on the problem getting it fixed. Everyone knows that it is against the rule to mix fuel so we started policing the mixing as much as we could. It is hard to police it when it all passes.

Because I do a lot of fuel testing, I have a good handle on what I check. The other fuel check persons are also aware of this. I know the difference between cheating and some fuel that went bad from improper maintenance or leaving it in the car between races. Through testing this year, I have developed a test that I can tell when the fuel has been mixed. I showed this test to Tim White at Norwalk. It seems common knowledge that the chart has been widened for SR-18 to the same spec as Stock and Super Stock. This just opens up a big window to mix fuels. Most of you remember the fuel wars of the late 1990's. It was ugly and I was there and had a part in fixing it. It looks like we may be headed that direction again.

I have a simple fix that would eliminate all the mixing of the fuel but because I was fired, I will let someone else figure it out. If we eliminate the mixing problem which can easily be done, this will eliminate a lot of problems. I hope some of this information will help explain a little bit of what has been going on this year. Remember, Sunoco is doing a good job trying to get this fixed. Any questions about what I have just talked about will need to be referred to NHRA in Indianapolis. Thanks again for all of your support. As I said before, I won't respond to this statement or answer any questions.

[FINESPLINE]

Thank you and may success follow you in whatever path you chose.

[Chevy55]

Thank You Terrel and the best of luck to you.