Racers are always looking for extra horsepower. As their engines reach their maximum potential... their focus tends to shifts to outside the engine. For some, it's driver technique... for others, it's chassis setup.

Gas is one of those things that just by switching blends or brands, you can pickup one to ten horsepower. If you can change blends and go quicker, then doctoring up your gas can help as well.

These days, fuel is such a big deal in heads-up competition, that fuel limitations have been imposed in an effort to tighten down. In turn, racers have brought in chemists to make special masking agents to hide additives, and policing it has become a constant game of cat and mouse. The minute one thing is discovered by tech officials, they are back at work on another. It would seem that cheaters have the advantage, because only they know what they are doing next, and officials can only check for something once they discover what it is they are looking for.

"Hot" fuel is only an advantage in gasoline powered, normally aspirated, heads-up classes (such as Pro Stock and SuperSport). Having any kind of artificial aspiration (i.e.: blower, turbo or nitrous), or running nitromethane or alcohol, cancels the need.

Fuel additives break into two main groups; oxygenators and hydrocarbons.

• Oxygenators: chemicals which add oxygen into the fuel, allowing more fuel to effectively be burned.

• Hydrocarbons: chemicals which speed up the burn rate, or increase the burn power, of gasoline.

There are so many chemicals which are found and used, we will not even try to break them down. As with everything, finding the right balance and the right additive is a major part of it, and in the process... you can ruin a huge amount of engine parts (and money) while going down the wrong path.

Playing backyard chemist with gas is more dangerous then that however, because the chemicals used are very pure and highly concentrated. They are intended for use in a laboratory, by technicians who are equipped properly, and are trained, to handle dangerous materials.

For years, racers freely used a clear liquid called Propylene Oxide as one power additive. 10% in the tank often yielded half a tenth on the track, however if you got it on your skin or if you inhaled it, you become very sick... or even die. It did not take a prolonged exposure... one simple sniff is all it can take.

The EPA has taken chemicals like this out of standard pump gas, because of how dangerous they are. Propylene Oxide was outlawed many years ago as well, by the NHRA and AMA/Prostar, and has been removed from speed shops shelves.

We've all heard stories about pro stock racers having special blends of gas made for them, and if you believe what you hear, a price tag of $1,000 per gallon is not uncommon. Fuels of this type are what made NHRA come out with an accepted fuels list, and begin testing with some very high tech equipment.

When news was released two weeks ago about NHRA Pro Stock Bike racer Dave Schultz (a Sunoco-backed racer), being busted at NHRA's Route 66 Nationals for cheating with fuel, rumors and supposed "industry experts" began professing the real story and calling for harsh penalties.

We decided to look into it... to get to the real story. We called several people responsible for the blending of race fuel, a few chemical suppliers, and Dave Schultz himself... for his side of the story. We were unable to contact Schultz directly... however his team faxed us his official statement.

Schultz is accused of having a a chemical called Isoprene in his fuel. That chemical falls into the hydrocarbon category, and is a found in various blends of race gas. It is, however, not found in the NHRA specified VP C25 blend used in Pro Stock.

Lab tests showed a 1.1% presence by volume. That equals 6.4 ounces of pure isoprene per jug, or about 1.1 ounce per gallon of fuel stored.

For this small a mixture, NHRA's test instruments would only show a very slight variance. Trained eyes knew however that this variance was not normal, so they took a sealed fuel sample for lab testing. When the results came back, they showed isoprene, and disciplinary action was taken against Schultz. He is currently appealing the decision with NHRA, and a final ruling is yet to be given.

Isoprene is used in single-digit percentages (normally 1% to 5%), and produces more power by breaking the bond between the hydrogen and carbon atoms in the fuel. The burn rate, and effective BTU energy of the fuel, increases. It does however increase detonation, and so the "more is better" theory does not apply here - the exact mix is crucial.

You can quickly identify it by a distinct odor that it produces when burned. There is also a crystal-like residue that is left behind in the fuel tank, fuel lines, carbs, and on the back and face of the intake valve.

I've known Dave personally for years... and I can testify to the amount of professionalism he carries into the sport. Since he represents a fuel company as his primary sponsor, I can not see him purposely doing this.

Was Schultz cheating? Did they screw up?

The official release issued by Schultz Racing paints a story of a fatigued crew member, grabbing the wrong fuel jug to fill with fresh fuel. On the first day of the event, this fuel checked out just fine. Schultz claims that over the course of two days, that fuel acted as a solvent and etched the isoprene out of the plastic jug.

Well, that sounds possible... so I turned to the experts for their opinions. They all concurred, though this is remotely possible... it is very very unlikely.

The amount of isoprene normally found in gas is so small, the chance of that only isoprene, to that level, would soak into the plastic is slim. The chance decreases when you start talking about it being etched back out afterwards, and becomes even slimmer when you realize that other chemicals should have also been found as contaminants.

So... the chance (however slim) is there. The bottom line is however, that screw up or not... this chemical should not be found during a fuel check at a race. It is the racers responsibility to insure the fuel's purity... and that a brand new fuel jug might be used whenever you switch blends. Schultz knows enough about fuel blends to know better.

The presence of isoprene means that a performance advantage... no matter how small, was gained by Schultz. He is a professional, and the old "I did not know" excuse that we do not accept from our children, can not be taken as his defense.

• Schultz has filed an appeal, and NHRA has not given final word on the outcome of this case!

FUEL TIPS:

Race gas is a fairly unstable mixture, and it's "high end components" can actually evaporate right through the plastic jug it is kept in.

• Do not fuel the bike until absolutely ready to run. Make sure the tank is cool when you pour the fuel into it, and do not allow direct sunlight to shine on the area of the bike it is located in.

• Never use 5 gallon jugs, only use small jugs containing 1-2 gallons of the freshest possible fuel.

• Store fuel in a cool and dark area, and do not allow them to "slosh" in the trailer while traveling to the race. It is better to buy fuel as you need it, in small increments, at the track.

• When you open the fuel jug and hear that little "hiss", that pressure came from the chemical changes in the fuel. The vapors escaping contain high end components of the fuel, and capping the fuel tightly, and opening it as infrequently as possible, will reduce the amount of changes the fuel will make on performance and fuel check readings.

• The dielectric meter used to check gas gives an exact reading. Sanctions allow a minor variance to make up for fuel problems, however because of the higher frequency of fuel violations... fuel check standards will be tightened.

-MK

Further reading:

• NHRA News: Schultz busted in fuel check

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