Perhaps NASCAR’s efforts to bring in a younger generation of fans to watch the sport are succeeding. In a recent debate on “X”, veteran reporter Jeff Gluck was entangled in a question from a young fan about the purpose of the now obsolete “catch cans” that caused him to look back at his age and the distance that the older crop of racing fans have come so far.

Joining him in responding to the fan’s curiosity, several members of the NASCAR community cleared the air for the fan while simultaneously expressing their disbelief over the ignorance of the younger fans.

The crucial purpose of catch cans and why NASCAR got rid of them

Every pit crew in NASCAR consists of up to 8 members in different roles. At any given time, only five are allowed over the wall to work on their cars in the event of a pit stop. But this wasn’t always the case. Up until the 2011 season, every crew had one other key member in the role of a “catch can man”. This person’s job was to use an oil catch tank to collect any extra fuel overflowing while manually refueling a car.

In 2011, this role was discontinued after Sunoco developed a self-venting, refueling dump can that made fuel spillages on pit roads nearly impossible. The question that was posted by the fan on “X” and his Reddit handle contained an image of a catch can man collecting fuel. They asked, “Can someone tell me what this piece of equipment was in the 2000s during a pit stop?”

Though the Truck Series had adopted Sunoco’s new can a year earlier in the onset of 2010, the other two tiers were quick to follow suit the following season. Former VP of competition at NASCAR, Robin Pemberton, said at the time, as reported by autoracing1.com, “Over our three national series, we’ll run a fueling system that will eliminate the catch-can guy because it fuels and vents all in one process. It’s what the trucks have used, successfully.”

More than a decade has passed since we last saw a catch can man in the pits and the responses that followed Jeff Gluck’s were in line with his own disparity with time.

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Responding to the question on the oil catch tank, an army of fans gathered under Jeff Gluck’s response to show their unity. Complaining about how the ignorance made them feel old, one fan wrote, “Between morning back pain and this, I’m just gonna go ahead and check myself into a retirement home. Damn.” For a few others who were watching the sport again after a long break, the termination of the catch-can guy was a surprise in itself. Another comment said, “I’m old…. And I’m in my mid 20’s. I stopped watching a lot in 2008 and came back in 2014 and was surprised when they didn’t have the catch can”

Amidst the array of those who were filling the space with their disbelief, a few came forward to clear the question. Explaining what the “piece of equipment” was in good detail, one user wrote, “It was a catch can it open an air escape so the fuel could get in faster it caught the extra gas so it wasn’t all over pit road”.

NASCAR has been working for some time now on turning attractive to the newer generation of sports fans. Taking Cup Series races to the streets of Chicago, bringing in drivers from foreign racing series, solidifying plans to take the sport to international tracks and many such initiatives have been aimed at the same goal. The online thread, if anything, symbolizes the positive effects of these efforts. Hopefully, the transitions between fan bases will be smooth, so it benefits NASCAR.

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