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If you look at the results from most of the major gas races, you'll find
that many races are won by mere seconds. At the recent Silver State Gas
Championships, the top 3 finishers in the 1/8-scale 45-minute A-main were
just three seconds apart. Needless to say, pit stop strategy plays an
important part in gas racing. Dynamite's newly released fuel gun is designed
to provide fast, consistent fuel fills with very little practice or learned
techniques. To optimize your pit stop strategies, we've put together the
following tips:
Do The Math
- During practice, it's important to do a fuel mileage check. Have your
pitman fill the tank and run the car at race pace while timing how long
your engine will run on a tank of fuel.
- Calculate the pit stop intervals based on the length of the main.
For example, a 30-minute main would look like this:
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1 stop
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15 minutes
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2 stops
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10 and 20 minutes
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3 stops
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7 ½, 15 and 22 ½ minutes
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4 stops
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6, 12, 18 and 24 minutes
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5 stops
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5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 minutes
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- Using the fuel mileage time from #1 above, go down the pit stop interval
list to determine the fewest number of stops that can be safely made
without running out of fuel. For example if the fuel mileage check gives
a runtime of 7 minutes, 20 seconds, you'll need to plan for 4 stops
at 6 minutes between each stop. Pressing for 3 stops would be disastrous,
as your chances of running out of fuel would be likely!
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| Team JR member Anderson Yau demonstrates a perfect
pit stop at the 2003 IFMAR in Ohio. |
Pit Stop Practice and Consistency
- Practice pit stops before the main. During practice, it's a good
idea to also practice pit stops. This will help you and your pitman
become comfortable with the procedure. Your pitman should call you to
pit by clearly calling your name while your driving on the straightaway
(I.E. Jones pit this lap). You need to acknowledge that you heard him
by responding (OK). Accurately drive to your pit box at a comfortable
speed (don't drive too fast). Stop right at his hands.
- Be repeatable and consistent. The key to consistently fast pit stops
is to develop a good procedure and repeat it every time. A typical procedure
might look like this:
a. Fill the gun with fuel.
b. Call your driver to pit using the same easy to understand phrase
each time.
c. Listen/ look for his acknowledgement.
d. Reset the stopwatch to zero.
e. Approach the pit box and place the gun in your preferred hand.
f. Lift the car from the pit box.
g. Open the fuel tank lid, using the same motion and method each time.
h. Insert the nozzle of the gun into the tank.
i. Pull the trigger while watching the tank.
j. Release the trigger immediately when the tank is full.
k. Set the car back in the pit box and raise your hands to let your
driver know he can drive away.
l. Restart the stopwatch.
The key is to repeat the exact same procedures and motions each time.
Speed and confidence will automatically come with practice. And with some
practice, you'll find doing pit stops in less than 3 seconds is possible!
Other Tips
• If you've chosen a conservative pit stop interval that allows
you enough fuel to stretch out your pit stops by several laps, your pitman
should consider pitting you when the pit lane is clear of traffic. This
will help to avoid crashing in pit lane and will reduce the time in the
pits due to avoiding traffic.
• Many racers add a tie strap or other device to the tank lid
to help open the tank. Look around in the pits and you'll see several
clever ways that racers make opening the tank lid faster and easier.
• With some tanks, it's hard to see when the tank is full.
On the bench, using the fuel gun, count (one, two, three) and see how
long it takes to fill the tank. Then during the pit stop, count when the
trigger is pulled and release the trigger when the full count is up, ensuring
a full tank.
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