NASCAR recommends CO reduction system

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- NASCAR announced Friday that it has completed a major phase of its "fresh air" study regarding carbon monoxide and a recommendation has been issued to Winston Cup, Busch and Craftsman Truck Series teams for a catalyst component that can be implemented as early as this race weekend at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

	Gary Nelson

The seven-month study, led by NASCAR Managing Director of Research and Development Gary Nelson and an expert study group, resulted in a recommendation of a catalyst that will help reduce levels of carbon monoxide that potentially may leak into the driver cockpit area during on-track activity.

The new component, which will not be mandatory for teams to install, has reduced carbon monoxide as much as 75% in recent tests.

"During the study, the experts concluded that the levels of carbon monoxide were not at an alarming level but we wanted to ensure our drivers of the best possible environment to compete in," Nelson said.

"The study was divided into three areas: human side, car preparation and the component. On the human side, we learned that a driver's physical condition and level of hydration played key roles.

"For the car preparation, we helped educate teams on preparing a vehicle in a fashion that would minimize any type of leaks involving carbon monoxide. Finally, we had to locate the right component that effectively lowers the percentage of carbon monoxide that may enter the vehicle."

The study began in November of 2002 during the Rockingham race weekend where some NASCAR Winston Cup Series drivers were tested before and after races for carbon monoxide levels in their bodies. The tests continued through each race in 2002 as well as every race of this season.

A prototype was used by NASCAR Winston Cup driver Tony Stewart during the Martinsville Speedway race weekend in mid-April and additional drivers tested it along with Stewart at California Speedway and Richmond International Raceway to gather more data on the system's effectiveness.

The catalyst uses beads, which are 1/16 of an inch in diameter, that are coated with a catalyst and located between two screens inside an 8"x12" aluminum box.

The piece, which sits on the floor on the "passenger" side of the driver's cockpit, is connected between the fresh-air inlet that runs inside the vehicle and the air-conditioning box in the vehicle.

The internal components of the catalyst "scrub" the contaminants that may be in the air stream entering the cockpit and provide the driver with cleaner air flowing through the ducting into the helmet.

NASCAR has identified one manufacturer for the catalyst and is looking at other catalysts for use in the driver's ventilation system. The new component will cost approximately $400 to build. The teams will be able to add a catalyst to cars in approximately two hours.

"Our new NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord provided the resources to find a viable solution to this problem, and I greatly appreciate the time and effort of all the drivers and teams, especially Tony and Joe Gibbs Racing, and Gary Eaker and Hendrick Motorsports, for their input in this project," Nelson said.