"On a week-to-week basis, what I would recommend is using the leftover gas at the next event during warm-up laps," Wusz says. "That allows the older fuel to get used, then when they get near empty, fresh gas can be put into the car.
"To drain the fuel out of the car every weekend just isn't safe because of the way some people do it. Sometimes you can do more damage messing with the fuel than you would get if you just left it alone."
The only time fuel should be taken out of the fuel cell is when the cars are going to be sitting for a long period of time, such as when the season is over.
"At the end of the year you definitely want to drain all the gas from the fuel cell," Brown says. "Racing gasoline, in general, is very stable, but it can still degrade over long periods of time because of the atmosphere. Over the winter, you want to keep any leftover fuel in an approved metal container."
The location of those containers-stored inside or outside-is also important.
"If fuel is stored inside, it needs to be stored in an area that is very well ventilated," Brown says. "You most certainly wouldn't want to store a drum of gasoline sitting inside an attached garage at a home. The most important thing is to keep that drum out of the sunlight so the drums don't get overheated. There is nothing wrong with storing the fuel outside as long as it's stored in the shade."
If fuel is stored outside, it should be kept on the north side of the building so it never gets any direct sunlight, Wusz says. "It's the same thing as a house that faces north and there's that one little area near the front porch that never receives any sunlight. The same thing applies to storing drums of fuel because those drums are less likely to get any sunlight."
Disposal ProcessWhen it comes to getting rid of old racing gasoline, strict federal and state laws prevent the disposal of any type of hazardous materials into any drainage system.
If fuel has to be disposed of, it should be placed in the proper container and taken to a local hazardous materials disposal center, Wusz says. "But really the best way to get rid of old gas that's in the fuel cell is to burn it off when they get back to the track the following weekend. If you've got something and you don't know what it is, the best bet is to take it to the local hazardous materials center where you can take things like contaminated gas and old paint.
"You should never dump it down the drain or into the sewer systems. Never. If somebody lit a match under the right circumstances, you could see manhole covers lifting up for quite a ways."
How do you know if the fuel is contaminated and needs to be properly disposed of? Wusz says a good initial check is the color.
"If you know the fuel is supposed to be red but what you're looking at isn't red, chances are something has happened," Wusz says. "Another important way to check is to actually look down inside the container. Normally, if there are contaminants like water and dirt, they are going to be on the bottom of the drum.
"Gasoline will separate from water, that's how you can tell if water or dirt is in the drum. On the other side of that, you can't take a visual look and measure the octane level."
Safety EquipmentIf all the proper steps are taken, the threat of fire can be greatly diminished, though it's very important for all race teams to have the proper safety equipment within arm's reach at all times. It doesn't matter if it's at the shops, in the garage area, or out on pit road, having a good fire extinguisher around at all times is imperative.
"What those teams need is a dry chemical fire extinguisher, which is more of a powdery material," Brown says. "The extinguishers come in 15- to 30-pound sizes. One very important thing a lot of the teams overlook is having their fire extinguishers close to the gasoline. If there is a fire, you really need to be able to get to an extinguisher fast to put it out."