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Dearborn, Mich. — In all of the years that Ol’ Spark has been drivin’—and by years the Sparkster means years and years and years and years and years—the gas tank has been run dry, absolutely dry, exactly once.
You see, there are some advantages growin’ up in the North, and the Spark has always maintained that a keen understandin’ of the fuel gauge is one of ’em. You see, in the North, before you turn 16, every older driver you encounter is quick to point out the importance of drivin’ on the “top half of the tank.” The thinkin’ bein’ that it’s easier for things to freeze—and, more important, not work—if there wasn’t much fuel in the tank. And, for the record, the Sparkster encountered a frozen fuel line once, too.
Anyway, fortunately for Ol’ Sparky, the day the tank ran dry was when the sun was up, the road was well-traveled, and the amount of good Samaritans was abundant.
(And, also for the record, the Sparkster was drivin’ a new car. Okay, not new, but new to him. Back then, they were called used cars. Now, they’re known as previously owned. Anyway, as the Spark quickly learned, the tank on that car was empty when the gauge read one-quarter full. So, either the gauge was a quarter-turnoff, or something was the matter with the float. It didn’t matter; the Sparkster didn’t have that car for long, and, for the most part, Ol’ Spark drove on the top half of the tank.)
Now, earlier this week, runnin’ out of fuel actually was a goal for a bunch of Ford engineers. Okay, maybe that wasn’t the goal, but it certainly was part of it. You see, that group of engineers—plus Carl Edwards and noted hypermiler Wayne Gerdes—took a 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid out on the streets in and around Washington, D.C., to see exactly how many miles they could squeeze out of a tank full of gas.
Their goal was 1,000.
As in, miles.
One thousand miles.
To do that, they would have to average at least 57 miles to the gallon.
And that would’ve been impressive had they accomplished that feat.
But they didn’t.
Nope, instead, they drove an extra day, finally runnin’ out of fuel and electricity after 1,445.7 miles.
On a single tank of gas.
That averages out to 81.5 miles per gallon.
The Sparkster’s next car is going to be the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid.
Keep in mind that the engineers didn’t do anythin’ special to that Fusion; it was just like you would find in a showroom. You could buy one just like it today. And the fuel wasn't special. Just 87 octane gasoline you can buy on most street corners.
Has the Sparkster mentioned that his next car is goin’ to be a 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid?
At any rate, Carl Edwards, just hours after racin’ at Talladega, was behind the wheel of that 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid when it reached the 1,000-mile mark.
And, when he got out of the car, his quote was a classic.
There was still a third of a tank of gas remaining!
And then he took some time to answer some questions via twitter.
Carl, bein' the guy he is, didn't just answer questions @FordRacing. He also answered questions @Ford, and @FordDriveGreen, perhaps the first triple-play in twitter history.
The dedicated engineers who were also part of the driving team believed they’d be done on Monday, so they booked flights back home for Monday afternoon.
When you design a car that gets 1,445.7 miles to a tank of gas, you miss flights.
They went home the next day. With smiles on their faces, and a world record for mileage on a tank of gasoline. Nice.
HE’S A WINNER
Ol’ Spark isn’t one to say, “I told ya’ so,” but someone mentioned to keep an eye on David Ragan at Talladega. He would be the driver who won Saturday’s Nationwide race. That victory was Ragan’s first-ever at the NASCAR level, regardless of level, and it showed that he has, among other things, a little bit of patience. Except there at the end, when that patience thing wouldn’t have worked.
Now, for quite some time now, the Sparkster has been sayin’ to a few in the racin’ game that once Ragan wins that first one, he’ll start puttin’ those W’s together. Hopefully, the next one will be in the Cup series, which continues this Saturday night in Richmond.
Richmond, as far as the Sparkster is concerned, is tremendously underrated as a racin’ venue. Not by the drivers, though. There is no other track like it. At three quarters of a mile, it allows the best of speedway racin’ and the best of short-track racin’. In fact, of all the tracks on the circuit, the Spark prefers standin’ in the infield between turns three and four at Richmond over any other vantage point.
ACTION FULL THROTTLE
The NHRA Full Throttle Series picks up again this weekend at Gateway International Raceway, near St. Louis.
Bob Tasca III, who earlier this year earned his first-ever Funny Car win, was in Ford’s hometown last week. Among other things, he was handin’ out a Wally—the trophy earned for, well, winnin’ an NHRA event, to sponsors Ford, Motorcraft and Quick Lane.
Now, every time Sparkster hears, “Wally,” he thinks, “Gator,” so it’s kind of fittin’ that Tasca’s first-ever Wally was earned in Gainesville, Fla. (Okay, see, the Gatornationals are held in Gainesville, right? Gainesville is also home to the University of Florida, right? The school’s nickname is the Gators, right? There was a cartoon character named Wally Gator. Sparky watched too many cartoons. Ah, never mind.)
Anyway, you know how the Sparkster’s been wonderin’ where all the old Fairlanes and Galaxies are? 'Saw a ’66 Galaxie over the weekend, not too far from where that old Falcon is for sale. Now, this Galaxie was painted yellow, a yellow so bright it could’ve gotten a scholarship. And, there were skirts coverin’ the rear wheels. But, it was close enough for the Sparkster; summer must be right around the corner.
While needin’ some extra paper to fully verify that 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid’s mileage, the Sparkster went through this week’s mailbag.
Sparky:
I see David Ragan won the Nationwide race. Good for him. But he seems to be struggling this year in Cup races. What happened?
Norman
As the Sparkster has been told many times, Norman, when you’re racin’ for points, it’s a long season. And, as far as David Ragan is concerned, right now, that’s a good thing. Don’t forget, it wasn’t too long ago that he was bein’ criticized and questioned about his ability to drive at the Cup level—shoot, Tony Stewart called him a dart without feathers—but after finishin’ just out of the Chase last year, expectations this year were greatly increased. Or, as they say, “The bar was raised.” That’s the tough things about high expectations: No matter what, you never really reach ’em. And, now, by winnin’ that Nationwide race last weekend, that bar—and expectations—will go even higher. But, the Sparkster is convinced that Ragan is up to the challenge. With nine races complete—or, one-fourth of the 36-race season—Ragan is in 26th place, after movin’ up four positions this past weekend. But, and this is important, he is just 208 points behind teammate Matt Kenseth, who right now has the 12th, and final, transfer position. By comparison, Kenseth, who already has won two races this year and has one other top-five finish, is 218 points behind the leader. So, can Ragan make up a little more than 200 points and 14 spots in the standings in the next 17 races? Don’t be surprised…
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