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ARCA Continues Ilmor 396 Development
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Just days after the debut at Daytona International Speedway, the continuing development of the ARCA Ilmor 396 engine package was back on course.
ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards officials tested the new ARCA Ilmor 396 engine at Palm Beach International Raceway (PBIR) on Tuesday, providing the development platform for road course racing, and the upcoming event at New Jersey Motorsports Park.
“All in all, it went well,” said Grayling Call, ARCA’s Director of Competition and Race Technology. “We got a lot accomplished in a short amount of time.”
PBIR is a 2.034-mile, 10-turn road course with a six-tenths-mile straightaway. Call said the steel-bodied Ford Fusion from Bill Kimmel Racing ran 40 laps, or just over 80 miles during the test. Will Kimmel was the driver while car owner and crew chief Bill Kimmel prepared the car.
“Things went really well overall,” Bill Kimmel said. “I think we gleaned a lot of great information from the test. In going through all the upshifts and downshifts, it worked out really good … no issues at all. Several different fuel cell configurations were tested, so that worked out really good, too. I think we left with several good options.”
Bill Tichenor, Director of Marketing for Holley Performance Products, said one of the things under the watchful eye at the test was Holley’s new HydraMat fuel reservoir for the new ARCA Ilmor 396.
HydraMat is a fuel reservoir system designed to reduce fuel starvation issues in cornering, acceleration, stopping, inclines and low fuel conditions. It is in these situations that traditional fuel pick-ups can be starved of fuel, which then introduces air into the fuel system resulting in poor engine performance and even engine stalling. Holley developed the system.
“We’re super excited about the success of the HydraMat at Daytona,” Tichenor said. “The Daytona race was the first official outing for the HydraMat and it proved to be a great option for the teams. It’s an efficient way to keep the fuel under control in the fuel cell which is a must in an EFI environment. We tested a new configuration of the HydraMat at Palm Beach this week to confirm the best pick up location in a road course environment. We got that figured out and now we’re ready for the entire 2015 ARCA race season.”
It’s the fifth different track-type test for the ARCA Ilmor 396, which was tested twice at Salem Speedway, twice at Daytona International Speedway and once at Talladega Superspeedway prior to the start of the 2015 ARCA season. Twenty-five ARCA Ilmor 396 motors made their competitive debut at Daytona in the Lucas Oil 200 presented by AutoZone. Grant Enfinger had an ARCA Ilmor 396 in his race-winning Chevrolet.
Call said this week’s test will help engineers at Ilmor to further develop the engine.
“Ilmor will take the information they received from this test and, now that they know how the car reacts, be able to dyno test it and simulate a road course race,” Call said. “This is a little bit different course than New Jersey Motorsports Park, but the information they have now can simulate a road course.”
ARCA’s only road course race of 2015 will be May 24 at New Jersey Motorsports Park, a 2.25-mile asphalt road course with 14 turns and a one-mile straightaway. Sunoco Race Fuels supported the test, as did Hoosier Tire, which brought the same tire that will be used at New Jersey.
“We did some short runs and some longer runs,” Kimmel said. “I think the ARCA Ilmor 396 speeds will be comparable with speeds last year at New Jersey. We also messed around with some different gear ratios … pretty good learning day overall.”
Tichenor said it is a great time to be involved in racing.
“This is an exciting time for our company,” he said. “Our carburetors have powered stock car racers for literally millions of miles and I have always been proud as I have watched those races. That was happening long before I ever started at Holley, so to be on hand and see our fuel injection and other products make their debut on stock cars was a tremendous feeling. When the cars made their first lap at full speed it was a great moment for the race teams, ARCA, Ilmor, and of course all of the Holley team members that worked so hard to make it happen.”
ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards officials tested the new ARCA Ilmor 396 engine at Palm Beach International Raceway (PBIR) on Tuesday, providing the development platform for road course racing, and the upcoming event at New Jersey Motorsports Park.
“All in all, it went well,” said Grayling Call, ARCA’s Director of Competition and Race Technology. “We got a lot accomplished in a short amount of time.”
PBIR is a 2.034-mile, 10-turn road course with a six-tenths-mile straightaway. Call said the steel-bodied Ford Fusion from Bill Kimmel Racing ran 40 laps, or just over 80 miles during the test. Will Kimmel was the driver while car owner and crew chief Bill Kimmel prepared the car.
“Things went really well overall,” Bill Kimmel said. “I think we gleaned a lot of great information from the test. In going through all the upshifts and downshifts, it worked out really good … no issues at all. Several different fuel cell configurations were tested, so that worked out really good, too. I think we left with several good options.”
Bill Tichenor, Director of Marketing for Holley Performance Products, said one of the things under the watchful eye at the test was Holley’s new HydraMat fuel reservoir for the new ARCA Ilmor 396.
HydraMat is a fuel reservoir system designed to reduce fuel starvation issues in cornering, acceleration, stopping, inclines and low fuel conditions. It is in these situations that traditional fuel pick-ups can be starved of fuel, which then introduces air into the fuel system resulting in poor engine performance and even engine stalling. Holley developed the system.
“We’re super excited about the success of the HydraMat at Daytona,” Tichenor said. “The Daytona race was the first official outing for the HydraMat and it proved to be a great option for the teams. It’s an efficient way to keep the fuel under control in the fuel cell which is a must in an EFI environment. We tested a new configuration of the HydraMat at Palm Beach this week to confirm the best pick up location in a road course environment. We got that figured out and now we’re ready for the entire 2015 ARCA race season.”
It’s the fifth different track-type test for the ARCA Ilmor 396, which was tested twice at Salem Speedway, twice at Daytona International Speedway and once at Talladega Superspeedway prior to the start of the 2015 ARCA season. Twenty-five ARCA Ilmor 396 motors made their competitive debut at Daytona in the Lucas Oil 200 presented by AutoZone. Grant Enfinger had an ARCA Ilmor 396 in his race-winning Chevrolet.
Call said this week’s test will help engineers at Ilmor to further develop the engine.
“Ilmor will take the information they received from this test and, now that they know how the car reacts, be able to dyno test it and simulate a road course race,” Call said. “This is a little bit different course than New Jersey Motorsports Park, but the information they have now can simulate a road course.”
ARCA’s only road course race of 2015 will be May 24 at New Jersey Motorsports Park, a 2.25-mile asphalt road course with 14 turns and a one-mile straightaway. Sunoco Race Fuels supported the test, as did Hoosier Tire, which brought the same tire that will be used at New Jersey.
“We did some short runs and some longer runs,” Kimmel said. “I think the ARCA Ilmor 396 speeds will be comparable with speeds last year at New Jersey. We also messed around with some different gear ratios … pretty good learning day overall.”
Tichenor said it is a great time to be involved in racing.
“This is an exciting time for our company,” he said. “Our carburetors have powered stock car racers for literally millions of miles and I have always been proud as I have watched those races. That was happening long before I ever started at Holley, so to be on hand and see our fuel injection and other products make their debut on stock cars was a tremendous feeling. When the cars made their first lap at full speed it was a great moment for the race teams, ARCA, Ilmor, and of course all of the Holley team members that worked so hard to make it happen.”
