Fixing SR-18

terral · 09-06-2015, 10:13 AM

My name is Terral Klaassen. I have posted three posts about the SR-18. There is a fix for this problem. When we got the first sample a year ago and Kenny and I first looked at it, we noticed it was the same color as C-25. We told Sunoco this would be a problem and we didn't like the color. At Pomona this year when this problem first started, after a discussion with NHRA and Sunoco I later talked to Russ Bradford of Sunoco Fuel and told him what I would do to fix the problem. The first thing I told him was that they should never have made the fuel the same color as C-25. This makes it too easy to mix and a different color of the fuel would eliminate this problem. The next thing I told him is they have a handling problem and it needs to be changed. Shipping the fuel in trucks and rail cars is not a good idea. I recommended packaging the fuel in metal containers as it was being made would eliminate this problem. This could then be distributed in sealed containers to their distributors. The last thing I told him is that they need to recall the fuel that doesn't pass and get it off the market. Russ told me this would be very expensive and the company would not go for it. I told him "What do you think this is going to cost you"? This was at the first race on the first day. I had no idea that they wouldn't fix their problem. The whole year they have blamed the fuel check people for not checking it properly and that their fuel is okay. I would recommend that the racers contact some upper management of Sunoco Racing Fuels and tell them that if they think they don't have a problem, then go to any Divisional or National race and go to the Comp Pits and ask any Comp Racers what they think of SR-18. Until I was fired after the Norwalk race, I have kept track of all of the fuels sold at the National races until then. From the late 1990's, we have had no issues at all with the VP C-25. After Pomona until Norwalk, all of the SR-18 passed our spec except for Houston. It was at the Divisional races where the problem is. It has carried over to the National. Throughout the year, I kept a list of where the fuel was purchased that didn't pass our spec. I forwarded this information to Tim White and Glen Gray and they gave it to Sunoco. Sunoco is putting a lot of pressure on NHRA to pass this fuel. I have worked with Glen and Tim since they started. They are two very smart and highly educated engineers that do a very good job for NHRA. They, as well as the NHRA management, have not been exposed to fuel check because there have not been any problems with fuel check for the 23 years I have worked there. They only get their information from Sunoco telling them everything is fine and that fuel check is not doing a good job. A comp racer recently told me that Terry Thompson of Sunoco was bragging about me getting fired at Chicago and that Sunoco had sent a letter to NHRA telling them to fire me and that I was the problem. I was fired when I got home from the Norwalk race. I am not sure what is going on at Indy because I don't have access to any of the information on how the fuel is checking. I only get the information from the Internet and from several of the racers that call me or have sent texts. Glen and Tim have been getting a bad rap over this. They didn't make the fuel and they don't sell it. I recommend, not being an employee anymore, that Sunoco needs to be contacted and tell them to fix the problem. Again, I thank all of my racer friends for all of the support that they have given me. Remember, Sunoco is a good company and has a good product but they have one thing that they need to fix.

09-06-2015, 10:13 AM	#1
terral Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 7 Likes: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Fixing SR-18 My name is Terral Klaassen. I have posted three posts about the SR-18. There is a fix for this problem. When we got the first sample a year ago and Kenny and I first looked at it, we noticed it was the same color as C-25. We told Sunoco this would be a problem and we didn't like the color. At Pomona this year when this problem first started, after a discussion with NHRA and Sunoco I later talked to Russ Bradford of Sunoco Fuel and told him what I would do to fix the problem. The first thing I told him was that they should never have made the fuel the same color as C-25. This makes it too easy to mix and a different color of the fuel would eliminate this problem. The next thing I told him is they have a handling problem and it needs to be changed. Shipping the fuel in trucks and rail cars is not a good idea. I recommended packaging the fuel in metal containers as it was being made would eliminate this problem. This could then be distributed in sealed containers to their distributors. The last thing I told him is that they need to recall the fuel that doesn't pass and get it off the market. Russ told me this would be very expensive and the company would not go for it. I told him "What do you think this is going to cost you"? This was at the first race on the first day. I had no idea that they wouldn't fix their problem. The whole year they have blamed the fuel check people for not checking it properly and that their fuel is okay. I would recommend that the racers contact some upper management of Sunoco Racing Fuels and tell them that if they think they don't have a problem, then go to any Divisional or National race and go to the Comp Pits and ask any Comp Racers what they think of SR-18. Until I was fired after the Norwalk race, I have kept track of all of the fuels sold at the National races until then. From the late 1990's, we have had no issues at all with the VP C-25. After Pomona until Norwalk, all of the SR-18 passed our spec except for Houston. It was at the Divisional races where the problem is. It has carried over to the National. Throughout the year, I kept a list of where the fuel was purchased that didn't pass our spec. I forwarded this information to Tim White and Glen Gray and they gave it to Sunoco. Sunoco is putting a lot of pressure on NHRA to pass this fuel. I have worked with Glen and Tim since they started. They are two very smart and highly educated engineers that do a very good job for NHRA. They, as well as the NHRA management, have not been exposed to fuel check because there have not been any problems with fuel check for the 23 years I have worked there. They only get their information from Sunoco telling them everything is fine and that fuel check is not doing a good job. A comp racer recently told me that Terry Thompson of Sunoco was bragging about me getting fired at Chicago and that Sunoco had sent a letter to NHRA telling them to fire me and that I was the problem. I was fired when I got home from the Norwalk race. I am not sure what is going on at Indy because I don't have access to any of the information on how the fuel is checking. I only get the information from the Internet and from several of the racers that call me or have sent texts. Glen and Tim have been getting a bad rap over this. They didn't make the fuel and they don't sell it. I recommend, not being an employee anymore, that Sunoco needs to be contacted and tell them to fix the problem. Again, I thank all of my racer friends for all of the support that they have given me. Remember, Sunoco is a good company and has a good product but they have one thing that they need to fix.