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Freescale Semiconductor and McLaren Electronic Systems were introduced Friday in a news conference at Daytona International Speedway as the companies chosen to produce the new fuel injectors. Freescale will provide the processors for McLaren's engine control units. McLaren also supplies teams in the Izod IndyCar Series and Formula One.
Using electronics, fuel injection allows a precise amount of fuel to suit the amount of air flowing through the engine (a carburetor is less efficient because it sets an optimum amount of fueling for a specific point during an engine cycle).
Peter van Manen, managing director for McLaren Electronic Systems, said fuel injection would give NASCAR "more in their armory" to tinker with the restrictor plates that are used to keep cars below 200 mph at the longest, fastest tracks on the circuit.
But vice president of competition Robin Pemberton said plates were "the easiest and most economical way" to reduce speeds. Currently placed on the carburetor to reduce the flow of air to the engine (and thus robbing cars of a few hundred horsepower), Pemberton said the plate would go on a throttle body ("the part the air flows through is basically the same") in the fuel injection system.
"We have several hundred horsepower knocked out, and that's the easiest way to regulate it now," Pemberton said. "We have a few things to work on the next few years to potentially change it."
He added that carburetors also will continue to be used in the Nationwide and Camping World Truck series yet because "as we develop other engine packages, we won't get on fuel injection anytime soon."
Pemberton said fuel injection in Cup would be "bulletproof and cheat-proof." NASCAR officials generally have an aversion to implementing electronics because it would make it harder to police the tightly regulated series.
Van Manen said McLaren had developed a tamperproof system over 15 years.
"The units won't run without an authorized NASCAR code," he said. "It's impossible to tamper with these units without opening them up."
McLaren will sell the systems to teams (van Manen wouldn't reveal the price), and Pemberton said teams will be allowed to rotate units out of their cars as they please.
NASCAR is positioning fuel injection as a greener technology because the system should improve efficiency by burning less fuel. With a move to E15 this season expected to be the first step toward more alternative fuels, van Manen said fuel injection would allow for "great flexibility as you change fuels. In the event NASCAR selects a different fuel mixture, it's more straightforward to optimize with fuel injection."
Because fuel injection hasn't been tested with restrictor plates yet, Pemberton wouldn't commit to whether they'll be used during the full 2012 season. But he said fans wouldn't notice much different with the engines whenever the system makes its debut.
"They'll sound the same, they'll run the same," Pemberton said. "They'll make the same horsepower, if not more. We'll have the same great racing we've had."
Freescale Semiconductor and McLaren Electronic Systems were introduced Friday in a news conference at Daytona International Speedway as the companies chosen to produce the new fuel injectors. Freescale will provide the processors for McLaren's engine control units. McLaren also supplies teams in the Izod IndyCar Series and Formula One.
Using electronics, fuel injection allows a precise amount of fuel to suit the amount of air flowing through the engine (a carburetor is less efficient because it sets an optimum amount of fueling for a specific point during an engine cycle).
Peter van Manen, managing director for McLaren Electronic Systems, said fuel injection would give NASCAR "more in their armory" to tinker with the restrictor plates that are used to keep cars below 200 mph at the longest, fastest tracks on the circuit.
But vice president of competition Robin Pemberton said plates were "the easiest and most economical way" to reduce speeds. Currently placed on the carburetor to reduce the flow of air to the engine (and thus robbing cars of a few hundred horsepower), Pemberton said the plate would go on a throttle body ("the part the air flows through is basically the same") in the fuel injection system.
"We have several hundred horsepower knocked out, and that's the easiest way to regulate it now," Pemberton said. "We have a few things to work on the next few years to potentially change it."
He added that carburetors also will continue to be used in the Nationwide and Camping World Truck series yet because "as we develop other engine packages, we won't get on fuel injection anytime soon."
Pemberton said fuel injection in Cup would be "bulletproof and cheat-proof." NASCAR officials generally have an aversion to implementing electronics because it would make it harder to police the tightly regulated series.
Van Manen said McLaren had developed a tamperproof system over 15 years.
"The units won't run without an authorized NASCAR code," he said. "It's impossible to tamper with these units without opening them up."
McLaren will sell the systems to teams (van Manen wouldn't reveal the price), and Pemberton said teams will be allowed to rotate units out of their cars as they please.
NASCAR is positioning fuel injection as a greener technology because the system should improve efficiency by burning less fuel. With a move to E15 this season expected to be the first step toward more alternative fuels, van Manen said fuel injection would allow for "great flexibility as you change fuels. In the event NASCAR selects a different fuel mixture, it's more straightforward to optimize with fuel injection."
Because fuel injection hasn't been tested with restrictor plates yet, Pemberton wouldn't commit to whether they'll be used during the full 2012 season. But he said fans wouldn't notice much different with the engines whenever the system makes its debut.
"They'll sound the same, they'll run the same," Pemberton said. "They'll make the same horsepower, if not more. We'll have the same great racing we've had."
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