NASCAR and motor oil

[Flaxbee]

I've cross posted this in the energy/environment forum, but I know there are several racing fans in the lounge.

Can anyone tell me how NASCAR (and/or any other racing group) recycles the doubtless huge quantities of motor oil used in the sport. Hopefully they do recycle.

Does anyone know or have any resources I could investigate? Thanks.

[Haole Girl]

1. They recycle...they have to. n/t

[Flaxbee]

2. but do you know how or where?

Or should I just ask the association?

[jmowreader]

3. The oil company recycles it for them

Motor oil companies partner with race teams for one very good reason: racing gives the oil companies a vast amount of well-abused motor oil to analyze. They claim this "helps make better oil for you," and that may be true in NASCAR...but in the NHRA, John Force sending his used oil back to Castrol helps them make better oil for John Force. I tend to leave the shit in the engine longer than half a mile, and that's about as far as they run nitro-burning engines anyway.

The oil company sends them a drum of oil. They put the oil in their cars' engines and run the weekend. At the end of the weekend, they drain the oil into a container, seal it, label it with the date, the car it was in (very few teams run only one entry) and the track it was used on, and ship it back to the oil company. There a sample is taken for analysis and the rest of the oil is dumped into their "recycle" tank.

That's how it works in big-league racing. In weekend warrior racing, most everyone runs either Valvoline VR1, Amsoil or Royal Purple and most of those guys buy their own oil. Hence, the company doesn't want it back. Those teams take the oil to an auto parts store and dump it into the barrel in the back.