From nascar.com
The first on-track test of fuel injection in the Sprint Cup Series could come as early as July 7 at Kentucky Speedway, provided NASCAR finalizes specifications for system hardware and software in time for teams to prepare. Because the Sprint Cup series will race at Kentucky for the first time on July 9, NASCAR has okayed extra practice on Thursday, July 7. Sprint Cup teams are scheduled to spend four hours on the track that day. NASCAR announced in February at Daytona International Speedway that McLaren and Freescale Semiconductor will partner in the development and manufacture of engine control units (ECUs) designed to manage fuel and ignition systems in Cup cars. Fuel injection will replace the carburetors that have been part of Cup engines since the series' inception in 1949, with the transition targeted for the 2012 season. Holley will provide the throttle bodies for the fuel-injection systems, but neither McLaren nor Holley makes the injectors themselves or other components such as oxygen sensors. So NASCAR either will mandate specific parts or write specifications for the parts and allow the garage to migrate toward preferred vendors. "It's not finalized, but it's close to finalization of software and things the teams will be using," Sprint Cup Series director John Darby said. "We have pretty much finished up a wiring harness specification, and we're very close to releasing a fuel-injector specification itself." If that happens within the next several weeks, fuel-injected engines should be on the track at Kentucky in July. Recent Articles
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