Fuel economy is an important consideration for anyone buying a new car because it saves money.
It's just as important in V8 Supercars, but for different reasons.
In our sport, fuel economy can be the difference between winning or losing, especially at Bathurst and in the other endurance races later in the season.
The more laps we can drive on each tank of E85 means either fewer or quicker pit stops for refueling, and the time saved is often crucial to results.
This week's two 200km races in Townsville have extra significance because teams can use them to assess fuel economy for the endurance races at Sandown, Bathurst, and the Gold Coast in September and October.
That's because the races in Townsville on Saturday and Sunday will be by far the longest we've had since the opening round in Adelaide in March (two 250km races).
The formats in the past five championship rounds have been sprint races of 120km or less, and fuel economy wasn't a big factor because everyone was driving flat-out from start to finish.
Since Adelaide, the various Holden, Ford, Nissan, and Mercedes teams have done considerable engine development under the new Car of the Future regulations.
In Townsville teams can test how their engine development impacts on fuel economy over long distances, and then try to find the right balance between performance and efficiency.
I'm confident of being competitive on the (2.8km) Townsville street circuit after two race podiums and a pole position in the previous round at Hidden Valley near Darwin in June.
Those were my best results for the Holden Racing Team this season, and follow upgrades to the front-end of our Commodores.
The changes have improved the consistency of our cars over full race distances, and tyre durability.
I qualified on the first two rows of the grid for all three races at Hidden Valley, so the car speed is there to race with the front group regularly.
The Townsville track is partly located in open parklands, and reminds me more of the Albert Park layout in Melbourne, compared to the Gold Coast street circuit which is surrounded by high-rise buildings.
This event is traditionally tough for drivers because of the warm North Queensland climate, and the heat being trapped between concrete walls.
I won a race at the inaugural Townsville event in 2009, and was second in a race the following year.
Championship leader Jamie Whincup won both races in Townsville in 2012, and is likely be a contender again, along with Red Bull Racing Commodore team-mate Craig Lowndes, and Ford Performance Racing pair Mark Winterbottom and Will Davison.
The FPR Falcons have good pace, evidenced by Winterbottom winning a race at Hidden Valley.
Whincup leads the championship by 159 points ahead of Lowndes, but there is only 145 points between Will Davison in third and myself in ninth so we all have plenty of incentive to beat each other in Townsville.
This is our fifth visit to Townsville. In 2012 the crowd over three days was 152,161, which is staggering considering the city's population is 172,000.
