IMSA.com Contributor Points out that a Fuel-Conservation Finish Can Be Just as Exciting
By John Oreovicz
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Races decided by fuel mileage often get a bad rap.
Saving fuel goes against the very ethos of racing, so goes the argument. Racing should be about maximum speed and pushing the limits of a car’s performance.
If only it were that simple. Racing is actually about drivers and teams managing many different parameters in order to position a car in front of the field when the checkered flag waves. And despite the best efforts of just about every sanctioning body in the world to eliminate fuel conservation as a form of strategy, it often plays an important role in determining the outcome of a race.
It’s even more crucial and unpredictable in sports car racing like the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, where competitors are chasing a moving target because the conclusion of most races is determined by time, instead of distance or a designated lap count.
Having fuel strategy as the focal point of how a race unfolds doesn’t necessarily make it boring. Case in point: the Daytona Prototype international (DPi) battle between the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura and the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac for the overall win at last weekend’s Acura Sports Car Challenge Presented by the TLX Type S at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
The intrigue was sparked by a full-course caution with an hour remaining in the two-hour, 40-minute contest.
The yellow was a lucky break for the No. 31 Cadillac, with Felipe Nasr behind the wheel, because it had stopped for fuel and tires the lap seconds prior to the caution. Nasr pitted again with the rest of the DPi leaders with 58 minutes on the clock to top off his fuel. The shorter stop vaulted the Whelen Engineering car prepared by Action Express Racing into the lead.
It was generally assumed that all DPi entries would need to make an additional splash-and-go stop to make the finish. The green-flag restart came with 45 minutes remaining, right on the precarious edge of how long the DPi cars could make a tank last so it opened up – barely – the option of trying to go the distance. Wayne Taylor, team owner of the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05, and his strategists, unhesitatingly committed to that strategy. It was up to his driver – his son Ricky Taylor – to accomplish the ambitious feat.
Taylor’s first task was to get past the leading No. 31 Cadillac, which he accomplished on the restart. Now his responsibility was to control the pace, without burning too much fuel.
Making the younger Taylor’s task somewhat easier, the No. 31 team committed Nasr to the same fuel-saving strategy. Driving to a target average lap time, Taylor used extra fuel to effectively work his way through traffic, then watched his hard-fought advantage evaporate a couple laps later when he backed off to make up for it.
The pressure on both entries to conserve down the stretch lessened when their two closest pursuers pitted for a gas-and-go in the final five minutes. The lead Acura and Cadillac were able to race flat out for the final, though Taylor admitted his low-fuel warning light was glowing brightly.
But there was an additional factor in play: If Taylor lapped too fast, he would reach the start/finish line too early and be forced to complete another lap. That would make the Acura extremely marginal on fuel.
Taylor’s teammate and co-driver, Filipe Albuquerque, explained the dilemma and the drama it caused WTR.
“It was all down to the lap time,” Albuquerque said. “He needed to be doing an average of 1 minute, 13.6 seconds. We were on target for the fuel, but if you do a 1:13.3, you’ll have to do another lap. If you do a 1:13.8, you have Nasr on your back.
“That was how close it was, but we didn’t tell Ricky that because he didn’t need to know,” Albuquerque added. “He just had to make the lap times and hold the position. Simple, right?”
For Taylor, fuel saving is all part of the modern racing driver’s skill set, along with speed, consistency, stamina and savvy.
“It was really difficult for me to understand the big picture about everything,” he admitted. “It was super intense, so stressful.”
The truth of the matter is, if fans watching from the amphitheater-like hillsides lining the 2.258-mile Mid-Ohio road course or from home weren’t made aware of the fuel strategy storyline by the NBCSN television or IMSA Radio broadcasts, they would have no idea the two drivers battling tooth and nail down the stretch for the win were occasionally feather-footing it and keeping an eye on the fuel gauge. Taylor’s margin of victory was 0.368 seconds.
So next time you hear that a race is being decided on fuel, don’t automatically assume it’s going to be a snoozer. There’s a lot more going on than meets the eye.