Publication: NASCAR News
Searching for cause of contaminated fuel | |
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NASCAR NEWS - Thursday, November 1, 2007
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Officials still searching for cause of contaminated fuel
Problem affected more than just Hamlin's car at Atlanta
By Mark Aumann, NASCAR.COM
HAMPTON, Ga. - The contaminated fuel that caused Denny
Hamlin's car to stall near the end of Sunday's race at
Atlanta Motor Speedway might have been added to the car's
fuel tank as early as Friday morning, according to Nextel
Cup director John Darby.
Speaking Monday during a two-day test session, Darby said
NASCAR and Sunoco are actively pursuing the cause of the
contaminated water that affected "more than two and less
than 43" of the cars in the Pep Boys Auto 500.
"Obviously, we're pumping out of the same pumps, the same
tanks [during Monday's test] as we did [Sunday] with no
issues," Darby said. "The way, typically, any amount of
water that winds up, especially from dispensing the fuel,
typically will settle out of suspension, showing up with
the very first fills of the event. What our suspicions are
is that some of the very early gas that was pumped out as
early as Friday morning could have been where the
contamination started."
Darby has asked Nextel Cup teams to systematically
disassemble their fuel filters and fuel cells from the
cars involved in Sunday's race, in order to determine
how widespread the problem might be. In addition, he's
asking Craftsman Truck Series teams -- who also fueled
from the pumps over the weekend -- to report on anything
out of the ordinary.
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"For example, our race winner [Sunday] night, in post-race
inspection, we did find some evidence of some water in the
fuel," Darby said. "Obviously, from a performance stand-
point, there wasn't an issue. [Then there was] a high level
of contamination that we did find in a couple of cars, such
as [Dave Blaney] and [Hamlin],where there was enough
introduced into the fuel system that could potentially
create some performance deterrents."
Darby said the water that entered the system was a cloudy
brown color. NASCAR, Sunoco and independent labs are now
testing the substance to see what it might be -- and where
it might have come from.
"It's a brownish-colored water," he said. "Typically, if
it was just water, it would appear to be more clear. What
the residue in the water can help us understand is if it's
come from a failed pipe or a pump or some other source that
could allow that to enter the fuel."
Since the fuel in the underground tank continues to test
clear of contamination, Darby said the focus of the
investigation then moves on to the method of dispensing
the fuel.
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"You've got an underground tank," Darby said. "You've got
plumbing that connects the underground tank to the fuel
pump. And you've got the fuel pump itself. So that's where
the investigation is going on now because it appears that
what's in the ground in the tanks is very clean.
"So then what you look for is an area of the fueling
system, whether it be the stand pipe, which connects the
tank to the pump, or a pump hose, or the filtering system
on the individual gas pumps, that may have picked up some
water and let it pass from the pump to the cans the teams
use."
It's quite possible, according to Darby, that this winds
up being an anomaly.
"The introduction of what water we've seen has been in very
small amounts, with the exception of a couple of cases,"
Darby said. "But those are the things that we're working
with Sunoco to backtrack through to make sure. At the end
of the day, was it one pump that had who knows what go
wrong with it, or a way that the water was introduced,
that for all practical purposes, may never show its face
again."
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Darby said NASCAR has ruled out sabotage -- and as to a
conspiracy theory: "That puts that to rest because there's
already way too many teams involved to select one that
somebody didn't like. That helps to reinforce the teams'
confidence in our security measures."
Darby also ruled out the idea that condensation could have
been the culprit. Sunoco officials do routine daily
inspections of the underground tank for water contamination.
"Condensation is always a concern and that's why there's
such an extensive monitoring system inside the underground
tanks," he said. "I think we've surpassed the amount of
water that you could blame on condensation.
"What really has me puzzled is that it's not a real clear
water. So once the laboratory reports come back from what
the substance is and what's mixed with it -- Is it rust?
Is it clay? Is it what? -- we don't know. I think that
will help point us in a real good direction."
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