For sprint car racers, there’s nothing like the excitement of getting on the track and competing for championships.
Drivers taking corners at high speeds slide completely sideways through the dirt, giving it their all to right themselves while fighting a loose, reactive steering wheel. It’s all part of the sport.
But another important aspect of the sport is what happens off the track. Racers work hard to keep their car in optimal competitive condition to achieve peak performance. And they know that racing fuel pumps from Kinsler Fuel Injection are an essential component to win in sprint car racing.
A Brief History and Evolution of Sprint Car Racing
In case you’re unfamiliar, sprint cars are open-wheel race cars that run on short oval or circular tracks that are usually dirt. The sport is popular in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
Sprint cars have high power-to-weight ratios that best those of contemporary Formula 1 cars. There’s no transmission in sprint cars. Instead, they use an in-or-out gearbox and quick-change rear differentials for occasional gearing changes. That means there are no electrical systems beyond an ignition magneto and they have to be pushed to start. This adds to the excitement. Exceptions can be IMCA-sanctioned sprint-type cars.
Early sprint cars were wingless and this made them more dangerous. Over the years, safety has improved with the addition of roll cages and wings, which protect drivers by increasing surface traction. While wingless sprint cars still exist today, many have “stub outs” in the frame for attaching wings.
There’s a wide range of vehicles for sprint racing. Among these are the midget car, which is a smaller version of a full-size sprint car, but is normally wingless. The mini sprint is about the same size as the midget, but has an upright-style chassis and center-mounted, chain-driven four-cylinder motorcycle engines. The SpeedSTR is an open-wheel model with a 72-inch wheelbase and is self-starting. And finally, the Outlaw karts are essentially go-karts with wings and roll cages.
Racing tracks are chose carefully for their ability to provide an aggressive racing style from start to end that rewards some calculated risks by the drivers.
Why Our Racing Fuel Pumps Excel in Sprint Racing
A sprint car is powered by a naturally aspirated, methanol-injected overhead-valve V-8 engine. It’s capable of engine speeds around 9000 rpm and, given the proper mechanical setup, (engine, gearing, shocks, etc.) and the track layout, these cars can achieve speeds in excess of 160 miles per hour (260 km/h).
- Racing fuel pumps are crucial for delivering direct, high-volume, and engine-speed-matched flow of heavy alcohol or methanol fuels in sprint cars. This means they’re capable of safely pumping massive volumes of Methanol “Alcohol” fuels to maximize the performance of the car.
- In addition, our racing fuel pumps don’t rely on fragile electrical power. So unlike electric racing fuel pumps, they don’t suffer from pressure drops or failure because of alternator strain or low battery capacity. And the use of direct cam driven or accessory driven eliminates the need for electronic relays, fuses, and wiring harnesses, which can fail under heavy vibration.
- With output that scales directly with RPM, the engine-speed scaling on the mechanical racing fuel pump enables the fuel volume to instantly increase as the driver accelerates out of corners or on the straight.
Kinsler Delivers with Its Tough Pump Series One Racing Fuel Pump
Recognizing the unique needs of engines used specifically for sprint car racing, as well as the other forms of racing, we designed and developed our Tough Pump.
Our Tough Pump Series One delivers steady flow at extreme RPM. Rather than making a 90-degree turn like most pumps do, the inlet port comes straight into the gears. This combined with special internal design features to feed the fuel to the gears, delivers top-end performance of up to 7,000 pump RPM (14,000 engine RPM) without cavitation. Our larger diameter roller bearings are rated at higher load (output pressure) and 2,000 more pump RPM than those of other brand pumps.
1. One-of-a-Kind Construction
The Tough Pump gear/shafts are constructed with high-alloy steel, case-hardened, precision-ground, then proprietary-coated. With no allowance for radial movement of the gear on the shaft, correct clearance between the gear teeth tips and the housing is maintained. Other manufactureres two-piece gear and shaft introduces more tolerance, enabling the tips to scrape the gear cavity walls. The Kinsler one-piece gear/shaft design enables our pump to ingest dirt and spit it out that would normally cause other pumps to fail. This is crucial for racing on dirt tracks.
2. Impressive Pressure Balance Plate System
The design also boasts a pressure balance plate system. Our gear side plates are made from high-alloy steel, heat-treated very hard, ground to a 6 micro-inch finish, and with end-to-end flatness of .0001”. These are coated with a harder-than-carbide composite, then lapped to a 2 micro-inch mirror finish. With such a smooth coating, the torque required to drive the pump is significantly reduced.
One plate in the system is movable. It’s fed pump outlet pressure under it to keep it in constant contact with the gear faces. This provides minimum pump output flow drop vs. pressure and compensates for housing expansion due to temperature and wear. Two coil springs keep the plate in contact with the gear face for excellent priming during engine cranking.
3. Strong Housing You Can Count On
Finally, there’s the rock-solid housing. Evolved through housing deflection vs. pressure tests, the Tough Pump design is the strongest in the industry, combined with twelve 10-32 studs to super-secure the extra-rigid cover. MIL-Spec hard-coated to +/- .0001” tolerance for consistent flow over a very long life. Good to 400 PSI; higher available.
The Tough Pump Series One is commonly used on the following applications:
- Midgets – 305 Race Saver Series Sprint Car
- 360 ASCS Sprint Car
- 410 World of Outlaws Sprint Car
- 410 High Limit Sprint Car
- And many other Sprint Car Series
Top FAQ About the Kinsler Tough Pump
Learn more about the design and performance capabilities of the Tough Pump from our very own team at Kinsler in the video below:
Winning Drivers Who Use the Kinsler Tough Pump
The Kinsler Tough Pump has been ‘pumping’ out winners for a long time. And our sprint racing customers are more than satisfied. Racer Terry McCarl even wrote us this letter a few years back about his experience with our racing fuel pumps:
Dear Mr. Kinsler
I would like to personally thank you for your support. We had a great year finishing 9th in the World of Outlaws point standings. As a manufacturer, you will be happy to know that we also led the World of Outlaws with 12 fast times (3 track records) and 12 second fast times. This alone is an impressive statistic. However, we also raced the entire 100-race World of Outlaws schedule with NO engine failures. We feel this is an amazing accomplishment and one we could not have achieved without your involvement.
Again, I appreciate all you do for my race team, and I am looking forward to even more success with you in the future.
Sincerely yours,
Terry McCarl
And in more recent news, a client of ours just won the 2026 65th Knoxville Nationals with Kyle Larson!
All Nine of the A-Main Winners ran Kinsler manifolds and Tough Pumps at the 2026 65th Knoxville Nationals.
Kinsler powered the 2025 Champions in the High Limit, World of Outlaws, and 360 ASCS National Series. Plus, all eight of the A-Main Winners ran Kinsler manifolds and Tough Pumps at the 2025 64th Knoxville Nationals.
Get the Best Performance with the Tough Pump Racing Fuel Pump
Find out for yourself how our mechanical racing fuel pumps can take your performance and results to the next level – our customer service and sales teams are here to help.
Contact us today to inquire about the Tough Pump Series One and how it can give you the winning advantage. Or if you’re ready to buy, reach out to our sales team. If you prefer, you can also call 248 362-1145 or contact us through our website.
