Fuel Capacity Tricks
Finding Gallons the Rulebook Forgot
Emanuel Zervakis had a problem every racer understands. Race cars drink gasoline, and every minute spent putting more of it aboard is a minute spent watching somebody else disappear down the racetrack.
The obvious solution is to use less fuel.
Racers have never been especially fond of obvious solutions when carrying more fuel will accomplish the same thing.
NASCAR had already considered that possibility and put a limit on fuel capacity.
Zervakis decided the limit could stand a little improvement.
A Few More Gallons Can Be Useful
In 1960, Zervakis was racing his No. 85 Chevrolet in NASCAR’s Grand National division, back when one fellow could own the car, build the car, drive the car and still have enough time left over to study which parts of the rulebook deserved his closest attention.
Fuel capacity deserved plenty.
A few extra gallons would not add a single horsepower, but they could keep a car circulating while somebody else was sitting in the pits pouring gasoline into his. Over a long race, eliminating one fuel stop could be worth considerably more than finding a few additional horses under the hood.
So when NASCAR arrived at Wilson Speedway in North Carolina on April 17, Zervakis brought a Chevrolet ready for 200 laps around the half-mile dirt track.
Ready enough to start from the pole.
Then he went out and won.
Second Place Had a Helpful Suggestion
Zervakis crossed the finish line first. Joe Weatherly crossed it second.
Normally that settles the important part of the afternoon.
Joe was not finished.
Instead of collecting second-place money and heading for the trailer, Weatherly went to NASCAR with a remarkably specific suggestion.
The inspectors ought to measure Zervakis’s fuel tank.
That is not the sort of complaint a fellow invents while walking back from victory lane. Nobody suddenly develops professional curiosity about another man’s gasoline capacity unless he has a pretty good idea what the measuring cans are going to find.
NASCAR checked.
Zervakis had more fuel tank than the rules allowed.
First across the finish line had just become a temporary condition.
Joe Knew Exactly Where to Look
Then the story improved considerably.
Weatherly had not guessed about the oversized tank.
He knew.
He knew because he had the same oversized tank in his own race car.
Then he pointed NASCAR directly at Zervakis.
That takes nerve.
Weatherly had just finished behind a man carrying the same questionable hardware he was carrying. Rather than complain about the general state of NASCAR fuel tanks, he identified exactly which one the inspectors needed to measure first.
They measured Zervakis’s tank, found it oversized and disqualified him.
Weatherly inherited the victory.
Nobody inspected Weatherly’s tank.
There Are Several Ways to Beat a Man
Zervakis had beaten Weatherly on the racetrack. That turned out not to be the final contest.
Weatherly knew something considerably more useful than where Zervakis had found speed. He knew where Zervakis had hidden endurance.
The oversized tank gave the No. 85 an advantage by stretching the distance between fuel stops. Once Weatherly finished second, the same tank became the easiest way to move himself up one position without turning another lap.
All he had to do was make sure NASCAR measured the correct Chevrolet.
There are finer examples of sportsmanship.
They are not nearly as entertaining.
The Inspection Lane Changed the Winner
Zervakis had started from the pole, survived 200 laps of dirt-track racing and crossed the finish line ahead of everybody else. His Chevrolet had done everything normally required to win.
Then somebody brought out the measuring cans.
The victory disappeared because the car could carry more gasoline than NASCAR allowed, which is exactly the sort of advantage that becomes much harder to explain once the fellow finishing second tells the inspectors where to look.
Weatherly did not need a faster engine.
He did not need another lap.
He needed NASCAR to measure one fuel tank and ignore another.
Knowing the Trick Was Better Than Proving It Was Legal
The best part of the story is not that Zervakis used an oversized tank. Racers have been finding extra fuel capacity almost as long as racing organizations have been limiting it.
The best part is that Weatherly reportedly had the same trick and still used it against the man who beat him.
That takes the usual inspection game and adds a useful little twist.
Most racers hope the officials do not discover what they are doing.
Joe Weatherly hoped they discovered what Emanuel Zervakis was doing first.
Zervakis got the checkered flag.
Weatherly got the official victory.
NASCAR never checked Joe’s tank.