BREWING NITRO CONTROVERSY
Fri, 2008-02-08 13:55
NITRO PRICE INCREASE – AND THAT’S JUST THE BEGINNING
On Thursday morning there was a meeting between team owners, NHRA, representatives of VP Racing Fuels, various and sundry attorneys representing different parties, and individuals from the federal government.
The stated purpose of the meeting was to discuss the dangers inherent to the use and transportation of nitromethane, but our sources report that the discussion ultimately covered numerous subjects, some of them not directly related to nitro and drag racing.
New federal standards call for a maximum amount of nitro allowed in a racer’s pit area at any given time to be limited to 398 lbs. total. That means that while 55 gallon drums continue to be used, they only contain approximately 40 gallons when delivered by VP (the number of gallons may vary slightly due to the percentage of nitro in the drum).
In order to transport nitro special licensing and documentation is now required. Two of the attorneys present, Mike Young and Donna Diamond of Western & Benshost, showed the audience a large binder, reportedly claiming that its extensive paperwork would have to be filled out and approved before an individual would be allowed to transport and store nitromethane. However, one competitor reports that he was able to quickly and easily fill out the same paperwork online, and is anticipating receiving approval in short order. NITRO PRICE INCREASE – AND THAT’S JUST THE BEGINNING
On Thursday morning there was a meeting between team owners, NHRA, representatives of VP Racing Fuels, various and sundry attorneys representing different parties, and individuals from the federal government.
The stated purpose of the meeting was to discuss the dangers inherent to the use and transportation of nitromethane, but our sources report that the discussion ultimately covered numerous subjects, some of them not directly related to nitro and drag racing.
New federal standards call for a maximum amount of nitro allowed in a racer’s pit area at any given time to be limited to 398 lbs. total. That means that while 55 gallon drums continue to be used, they only contain approximately 40 gallons when delivered by VP (the number of gallons may vary slightly due to the percentage of nitro in the drum).
In order to transport nitro special licensing and documentation is now required. Two of the attorneys present, Mike Young and Donna Diamond of Western & Benshost, showed the audience a large binder, reportedly claiming that its extensive paperwork would have to be filled out and approved before an individual would be allowed to transport and store nitromethane. However, one competitor reports that he was able to quickly and easily fill out the same paperwork online, and is anticipating receiving approval in short order.
During the meeting a representative of VP reportedly admitted that he was the one who sold Oklahoma City Bomber Timothy McVeigh the three drums of nitro that were used to enhance the explosion that took down the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, killing 168 and injuring over 800. McVeigh was later tried, convicted and executed for the crime. Ironically, fuel supplier Steve LeSeur was reportedly approached by McVeigh at the same event, but refused to sell to him because he didn’t like the way McVeigh answered LeSeur’s questions as to his planned use of the fuel. LeSeur reported the incident to the FBI and later provided sworn testimony as to what had taken place.
All of those in attendance in the meeting were asked to sign a five-point pledge that included promising not to sell any nitromethane to anyone, including other racers. They were also asked to make sure all of the nitro in their pits was kept in a secure area, that not more than a single drum of fuel would be in their pits at any given time and that they would return all nitro at the end of each event so that it could be secured and transported to the next race by VP.
The bottom of the document asked for Social Security and driver’s license numbers, which some racers present apparently weren’t happy about, assuming such information would result in their names being placed on a government file somewhere.
This raises a number of questions, of course, including how testing or match race situations would be handled, and as of Thursday evening we just don’t have the answers.
Steve Tanzler of the Department of Transportation, who made a presentation during the meeting, warned the racers that more stringent times were ahead in terms of the transportation and storage of nitro.
While this may be just the beginning of this issue, what can’t be ignored is the very real price increase that VP has foisted off on the competitors. They may be using the excuse of higher prices to transport and obtain the fuel, but the bottom line is crystal clear: In 2007 a 55 gallon drum of nitro cost $885. In early 2008 the price is still $885 – but for 40, not 55 gallons of fuel. Last year’s per-gallon price was approximately $16.38. Now it’s $22.12 – a whopping 31% increase.
When VP put together its exclusivity program with NHRA they had two sources for the fuel, but are now down to one. VP is, in effect, a re-seller and not a manufacturer of nitromethane. This means the racers are going to continue paying higher prices because VP’s “handling charges” are probably going to increase as well. Were VP a nitro manufacturer with competition in the marketplace, it’s possible that fuel costs would be somewhat lower than they are now, and certainly lower than they’re projected to be later in the year.
You do the math, but it’s clear that by year’s end a racer’s budget could be shot to hell just because of the increased costs of nitro. As of this writing there are 17 Top Fuel cars in competition at the Winternationals. Increased fuel costs alone could cut that number significantly by mid-summer because it’s obvious that a number of teams out there are barely scraping by as it is. A 31% immediate increase in fuel expenditures could translate to a 40% or more increase by the end of the year, and that’s definitely not good news.
On Thursday morning there was a meeting between team owners, NHRA, representatives of VP Racing Fuels, various and sundry attorneys representing different parties, and individuals from the federal government.
The stated purpose of the meeting was to discuss the dangers inherent to the use and transportation of nitromethane, but our sources report that the discussion ultimately covered numerous subjects, some of them not directly related to nitro and drag racing.
New federal standards call for a maximum amount of nitro allowed in a racer’s pit area at any given time to be limited to 398 lbs. total. That means that while 55 gallon drums continue to be used, they only contain approximately 40 gallons when delivered by VP (the number of gallons may vary slightly due to the percentage of nitro in the drum).
In order to transport nitro special licensing and documentation is now required. Two of the attorneys present, Mike Young and Donna Diamond of Western & Benshost, showed the audience a large binder, reportedly claiming that its extensive paperwork would have to be filled out and approved before an individual would be allowed to transport and store nitromethane. However, one competitor reports that he was able to quickly and easily fill out the same paperwork online, and is anticipating receiving approval in short order. NITRO PRICE INCREASE – AND THAT’S JUST THE BEGINNING
On Thursday morning there was a meeting between team owners, NHRA, representatives of VP Racing Fuels, various and sundry attorneys representing different parties, and individuals from the federal government.
The stated purpose of the meeting was to discuss the dangers inherent to the use and transportation of nitromethane, but our sources report that the discussion ultimately covered numerous subjects, some of them not directly related to nitro and drag racing.
New federal standards call for a maximum amount of nitro allowed in a racer’s pit area at any given time to be limited to 398 lbs. total. That means that while 55 gallon drums continue to be used, they only contain approximately 40 gallons when delivered by VP (the number of gallons may vary slightly due to the percentage of nitro in the drum).
In order to transport nitro special licensing and documentation is now required. Two of the attorneys present, Mike Young and Donna Diamond of Western & Benshost, showed the audience a large binder, reportedly claiming that its extensive paperwork would have to be filled out and approved before an individual would be allowed to transport and store nitromethane. However, one competitor reports that he was able to quickly and easily fill out the same paperwork online, and is anticipating receiving approval in short order.
During the meeting a representative of VP reportedly admitted that he was the one who sold Oklahoma City Bomber Timothy McVeigh the three drums of nitro that were used to enhance the explosion that took down the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, killing 168 and injuring over 800. McVeigh was later tried, convicted and executed for the crime. Ironically, fuel supplier Steve LeSeur was reportedly approached by McVeigh at the same event, but refused to sell to him because he didn’t like the way McVeigh answered LeSeur’s questions as to his planned use of the fuel. LeSeur reported the incident to the FBI and later provided sworn testimony as to what had taken place.
All of those in attendance in the meeting were asked to sign a five-point pledge that included promising not to sell any nitromethane to anyone, including other racers. They were also asked to make sure all of the nitro in their pits was kept in a secure area, that not more than a single drum of fuel would be in their pits at any given time and that they would return all nitro at the end of each event so that it could be secured and transported to the next race by VP.
The bottom of the document asked for Social Security and driver’s license numbers, which some racers present apparently weren’t happy about, assuming such information would result in their names being placed on a government file somewhere.
This raises a number of questions, of course, including how testing or match race situations would be handled, and as of Thursday evening we just don’t have the answers.
Steve Tanzler of the Department of Transportation, who made a presentation during the meeting, warned the racers that more stringent times were ahead in terms of the transportation and storage of nitro.
While this may be just the beginning of this issue, what can’t be ignored is the very real price increase that VP has foisted off on the competitors. They may be using the excuse of higher prices to transport and obtain the fuel, but the bottom line is crystal clear: In 2007 a 55 gallon drum of nitro cost $885. In early 2008 the price is still $885 – but for 40, not 55 gallons of fuel. Last year’s per-gallon price was approximately $16.38. Now it’s $22.12 – a whopping 31% increase.
When VP put together its exclusivity program with NHRA they had two sources for the fuel, but are now down to one. VP is, in effect, a re-seller and not a manufacturer of nitromethane. This means the racers are going to continue paying higher prices because VP’s “handling charges” are probably going to increase as well. Were VP a nitro manufacturer with competition in the marketplace, it’s possible that fuel costs would be somewhat lower than they are now, and certainly lower than they’re projected to be later in the year.
You do the math, but it’s clear that by year’s end a racer’s budget could be shot to hell just because of the increased costs of nitro. As of this writing there are 17 Top Fuel cars in competition at the Winternationals. Increased fuel costs alone could cut that number significantly by mid-summer because it’s obvious that a number of teams out there are barely scraping by as it is. A 31% immediate increase in fuel expenditures could translate to a 40% or more increase by the end of the year, and that’s definitely not good news.
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