by foo » Mon 12 May 2008, 12:28:04
Rising gas prices have NASCAR feeling pain at the pump
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A')s gas prices soar across the country, the thought of paying $6.25 a gallon would make any consumer cringe.
Yet that's what it costs in NASCAR, where race teams use a special Sunoco 260 GTX unleaded fuel to fill their cars. Although the gas is free -- part of Sunoco's agreement as NASCAR's official fuel supplier -- it doesn't mean car owners and drivers aren't feeling the pain at the pump.
"It affects all of us, anybody that's in business," said car owner Richard Childress. "Getting our cars to the racetracks costs a ton in gas money for the haulers. Bringing our people to the tracks, the rising costs of jet fuel. It's very, very expensive to do what we're doing."
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', ' ')So NASCAR has no current plans to shorten races, as it did in the early 1970s when OPEC hoarded oil to increase prices, causing long lines at the pumps.
But the pain is still felt away from the track, where teams have noticed a significant increase in transportation costs.
From sending diesel-chugging haulers across the country to transport the race cars, to the exorbitant jump in jet fuel, costs are soaring in simply getting drivers, crews and equipment to each event.
"We're really noticing it in credit card costs," said Jay Frye, general manager of Red Bull Racing. "We're getting bills back for thousands and thousands of dollars in diesel fuel that's needed to get the haulers to the track each week. So every time gas prices go up, it affects our monthly budget because we're paying a bigger gas bill than we did last month."
With diesel fuel now over $4.00 a gallon, and each hauler holding roughly 300 gallons, fill-ups now cost more than $1,200 for a truck that only gets between 4.5 and 7.5 miles per gallon.
The real pinch, though, comes in jet fuel. Many team owners shuttling crew members, and drivers flying private planes on weekends, are considering cutting down on the luxuries.
Jeff Burton said he recently sat down with his wife, Kim, to discuss removing any nonessential travel from their plans, and in March, Childress had crew members make the three-hour drive from North Carolina to Bristol, Tenn., instead of sending planes.
Canary in the coal mine? I'd say so. Bye bye tweetie.
Maybe they will make a smooth transition to racing scooters on the circular track.