As the years roll by, technology in NASCAR has been evolving at a rapid pace. In the modern age, there has been a great emphasis on saving the environment. As such, the race has been on to pursue more sustainable fuels to replace fossil fuels. Many motorsport series have begun to make the transition and NASCAR is among those series.

For the sake of context, Formula One has done away with mid-race refueling because of safety concerns while entering the pits. However, that is not something that could work in a NASCAR setting, as the races are longer and fuel needs to be replenished. As a result, the organization has had to find an alternate method to move away from the high usage of fossil fuels. Safe to say, they found the solution with Green Fuel, but how did they get there? Joe Gibbs Racing breaks it down on Instagram.

How has NASCAR fuel evolved over the years?

In a recent video, the Joe Gibbs Racing team spoke about the evolution of fuel used in the sport. According to them, NASCAR has come a long way since its infancy, when regular fuel was used to power the cars. However, as the engines evolved, the fuel used had to evolve as well.

Joe Gibbs Racing posted a video on Instagram, “Why is NASCAR fuel green? In the early days, fuel from the gas station was sufficient. Engines weren’t powerful enough to need special fuel, but in the 60s, engines grew and so did demand for more advanced fuels. By the 70s, high performance race fuel was publicly available. Through the 80s, new technology allowed new gasoline blends, leading to better quality fuel. This technology improved fuel through the 90s and 2000s until 2004. Sunoco became the official fuel of NASCAR with their Sunoco Supreme product. This was replaced with an unleaded fuel in 2007.”

As one would expect, the evolution process began, and everyone wanted to stay ahead of the curve. With the ongoing industrial revolution affecting the automobile industry, NASCAR was catching strays too. In turn, the newer generations of cars making their debuts also meant that older technology and fuel would not work. As a result, NASCAR had to explore newer forms of fuel to power the cars.

Finally, in 2007, the NASCAR Cup cars began running on unleaded fuel. Although lead-filled fuel provided better performance, the health risk far outweighed the performance gain. As a result, the cars were tweaked in such a way that they could run on unleaded petrol and not lose any significant performance advantage.

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What fuel is currently in use for the modern era of the sport?

The Joe Gibbs Racing video added, “Until this point, NASCAR racing fuel contained lead to increase performance. But lead is toxic and had already been banned from normal gasoline. Production vehicles had been designed to run on unleaded fuels since the 70s. So it was important for NASCAR to make the change.” This was a significant milestone in motorsports as the elimination of lead from their fuels made it much more safe and sustainable. However, that wasn’t enough. With global warming taking the world by storm year after year, the biggest change came in 2011.

JGR continued, “In 2011, NASCAR would once again change fuels to Sunoco Green E15. It contains 15% ethanol which comes from corn, and it reduces greenhouse gases, improves engine performance, and is overall better for the environment. This is why it’s called Green E15, this is the fuel NASCAR uses today and it is green to better represent this initiative.” 

Sunoco is the official fuel supplier for the NASCAR series. As the premier supplier, the brand had to evolve and come out with alternative fuels as the years passed. Besides the lack of greenhouse gas emissions, the fuel is highly oxygenated, more than any other fuel. This enhances combustion, which improves fuel efficiency and reduces emissions. Owing to that, the sport had to develop fuel system changes to extract the best possible performance from Green E15. Oxygenated fuels can also increase the octane rating of gasoline, which is related to the fuel’s resistance to detonation and Sunoco Green E-15 is 98 octane.

To this day, NASCAR continues to use this very type of fuel. The best part is that they are doing their part to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Now, the next stage is likely to be no fuel at all, with NASCAR testing electric cars. Of course, there have been some grumblings from fans, but the bottom line is that this is the future. Do you think NASCAR will go all-electric in the future?