# BIG News: Sunoco Has Been Selected As The Official Fuel Of NASCAR! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 24, 2004, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-news-sunoco-has-been-selected-as-the-official-fuel-of-nascar/230934 "2004-02-24T17:57:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2004, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-news-sunoco-has-been-selected-as-the-official-fuel-of-nascar/230934/1 "2004-02-24T17:57:51Z")
While listening to the radio on the ride into work today, sandwiched between a commercial for a slip-n-fall attorney and the traffic report, came this 5 second spot: Sunoco Has Been Selected As The Official Fuel Of NASCAR [I guess I musta missed the official announcement back on August 15th](http://www.nascar.com/2003/news/headlines/wc/08/15/sunoco_deal/). I should admit I consider car racing about as spectacular as watching my clothes spin around inside the washing machine at the laundromat. I don’t even know what the abbreviation NASCAR even stands for. I’ll leave the old, “Is it a sport?” debate that has plagued mankind for the better part of the last century to race fans and the International Olympic Committee. I have a few more mundane questions that have come to mind since I heard this Earth-shattering news: 1. So? Does this really mean anything to anyone? 2. _Selected_, or paid for the rights? Steinbrenner’s smart enough to make Anheuser Busch & Adolph Coors battle it out every year with dollars, are NASCAR front-office types as shrewd? 3. Will I be able to buy racing grade gasoline for my car at the Sunoco pumps anytime soon? Or will 112 octane blow my engine? ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2004, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-news-sunoco-has-been-selected-as-the-official-fuel-of-nascar/230934/2 "2004-02-24T18:39:37Z")
**N** ational **A** ssociation for **S** tock **C** ar **A** uto **R** acing 1. Not really. The biggest difference is that the big signs at the entrance and end of pit road are blue and four-sided as opposed to big-ass orange balls. I haven’t heard one team mention a performance difference… 2. Selected. Sonoco already had a relationship with NASCAR and the move was natural. From your link: > [@](#): > > Sunoco already distributes racing fuel to more than 400 tracks across the country and supplies about 80 percent of the fuel to NASCAR’s Dodge Weekly Racing Series. 1. I don’t think you want to do that. 110 octane racing fuel is _leaded_. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2004, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-news-sunoco-has-been-selected-as-the-official-fuel-of-nascar/230934/3 "2004-02-24T18:51:35Z")
Given the sponsor loyalty of race fans, to be named “Official Whatever of NASCAR” likely translates to millions of dollars for that company. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2004, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-news-sunoco-has-been-selected-as-the-official-fuel-of-nascar/230934/4 "2004-02-24T21:42:28Z")
I’m still waiting for the bird feeder filler modeled after the 12-gallon NASCAR fuel filler.