Why NASCAR’s Fuel-Saving Problem Won’t Go Away at Talladega

Why NASCAR Fuel-Saving Won’t Go Away at TalladegaSusan Wade

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who’s known for his superspeedway racing prowess, says the fuel-saving strategy implemented at Talladega and Daytona won’t change until the NASCAR Cup cars return to a wheel that needs five lug nuts instead of the single one now used.

The wheel used on the current Cup car is much wider and lower than the one used in NASCAR’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and attaches with a single, center-locking lug nut system. It’s 18 inches in diameter, 12 inches wide, and made of forged aluminum. The O’Reilly Series wheel, which is identical to the one previously used in the Cup Series, is 15 inches in diameter. 9.5 inches wide and made of steel, thus allowing five lug nuts to be used.

NASCAR has said a five-lug system wouldn’t be safe for use on the alloyed aluminum wheel. The single, center-locking lug nut system has enabled four-tire fuel stops to be made in 10 seconds or less. It now takes longer to fuel the car than it does to change tires.

“If you don’t have to pit in a Stage, I’ll still save fuel because when you do come down pit road, you’re still gonna want the least amount of fuel as possible,” said Stenhouse, whose four NASCAR Cup victories have all been at Talladega or Daytona. “That’s still our limiting factor. Until you go back to five lug nuts, the fuel is gonna be the issue.”

The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series wheel on the left, the Cup wheel on the right.Susan Wade

In recent years, the Cup teams developed a fuel-saving strategy at NASCAR’s two biggest speedways because that allowed them to spend less time on pit road. In an effort to derail that strategy in Sunday’s Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, NASCAR reversed the length of the Stages, making the first Stage the longest one. For the 188-lap event, NASCAR set the first Stage at 98 laps and the final two Stages at 45 laps each, which is the approximate fuel window. John Probst, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer, said the teams could possibly make one stop in Stage 1 instead of two.