Race cars in the Land Down Under will be running on 85 percent ethanol next year.
Australian media sources report that V8 Supercars chairman Tony Cochrane announced on Sunday that all cars in the main V8 series and the Fujitsu Development Series will run on E85 made from sugar cane for at least five years starting in 2009.
“We want to be a leader in the area of emissions and renewable resources - we don’t want to be a follower,” Cochrane said. “Our job is educational. We want to show if we can run it in our cars, maybe it’s a consideration for the average motorist.”
Minnesota Corn Growers treasurer Chad Willis says corn growers will be out at the events, talking to the fans and promoting ethanol. “For the past few years we’ve done an ethanol trivia contest with the t-shirts as a prize,” said Willis, who is a farmer from Willmar and one of the volunteer coordinators for the event. “It’s a great way to get our message across because it has the crowd listening carefully so they know the answer if they get called up. The best way to learn something is to learn it and repeat it.”
The races run on four consecutive nights at four different Wissota Auto Racing tracks in western Minnesota and will draw together a score of “Midwest Modified” class drivers and vehicles to compete for higher-than-usual purses. The vehicles will be running on E-98, a performance fuel with octane topping 105.
The races will be held July 8 at Viking Speedway in Alexandria; July 9 at Madison Speedway in Madison; July 10 at KRA Speedway in Willmar; and July 11 at Fiesta City Speedway, Montevideo.
Team Ethanol scored its first IndyCar Series win Sunday at the Camping World Grand Prix in Watkins Glen, NY.
Appropriately on Independence Day weekend, it was an all-American win for the Rahal Letterman team, which is sponsored by the ethanol industry - including ICM, POET and Fagen - with driver Ryan Hunter-Reay at the wheel.
“It’s a dream come true,” Hunter-Reay said after the race. “American kid winning with ethanol on the side of the car. It’s an American team - Bobby Rahal gave me the job and now we’re in Victory Circle.”
Hunter-Reay is the third driver for Team Ethanol, which was initiated by Paul Dana in 2005. Dana was killed in a pre-race wreck at the start of the 2006 season in Homestead. Jeff Simmons took over for him the rest of that season and most of 2007 before he was replaced mid-season by Hunter-Reay who went on to become Rookie of the Year.
This is the second year the IndyCar Series has been fueled with 100 percent ethanol, so the victory is especially sweet for corn growers and the ethanol industry.
This year’s Iowa Corn Indy 250 is over and as usual, ethanol won. Actually, Dan Wheldon, Target Chip Ganassi Racing won the race.
He’s seen here holding up the trophy which is a replica gas pump.
The Team Ethanol car ran as high as 3rd place but according to driver, Ryan Hunter-Reay, they lost a gamble on fuel strategy. He ran a strong race all day and really wanted to finish on the podium in front of so many fans of ethanol but it wasn’t to be. He finished 8th though and maybe he’ll get some breaks to go his way next time.
I’m out of here and heading home before getting on the road again tomorrow for the “Transition To a Bio Economy” conference in Berkeley, CA. I’ll be doing some posts from there starting on Tuesday.
Don’t forget to check out my photo album from all the activities of the past few days.
The Iowa Corn Indy 250 is underway here at Iowa Speedway and the weather is perfect.
Team Ethanol started at position 17 but driver Ryan Hunter-Reay made a bold move and jumped to 7th almost immediately and has been holding there by mid race.
I’ll post more at the end of the race which, depending on cautions, won’t be long.
The qualifying session for the Iowa Corn Indy 250 got rained out last night so unfortunately that means the drivers will start according to their points standing. That was a blow to Team Ethanol. The car was performing very well and would likely have had a much better starting position. Ryan Hunter-Reay, who spoke at the EPIC member reception last night, says he’ll make up for it though.
Members attending the reception were able to ask him questions, get his autograph and have their pictures taken. This little guy seemed very surprised to be picked up by Ryan for a picture.
We had a sunny day yesterday at Iowa Speedway until mid-afternoon when a thunderstorm popped up and absolutely drenched the track. It cut short practice plans although there’s going to be plenty of that today if the weather cooperates.
I found Team Ethanol driver, Ryan Hunter-Reay, seen walking to the first practice session yesterday, taking a break near the team garage. He seemed pretty pleased with the car’s performance and as of now is still 7th in practice speed.
The first practice session for the Iowa Corn Indy 250 is just about to conclude and Team Ethanol’s #17 car is doing very well.
Ryan Hunter-Reay clocked a practice lap at 181.676 mph and is currently 7th fastest. The track was heating up this afternoon as we have a sunny day, something people here in Iowa are very happy to see. There’s another practice session this afternoon and they’ll be back out tomorrow.
We’re hoping to see Ryan crossing that finish line first on Sunday!
I finally got to meet the Team Ethanol driver, Ryan Hunter-Reay. Ryan was on hand at the Kum & Go pump promotion and posed here with the Highway Patrolmen who helped us with security and traffic and other drivers. He’s the tall guy on the left.
Ryan says the Iowa race is very important, especially due to the connection to the corn growers here in the state. He says he’s learned so much from working with people in the ethanol industry, especially how it’s a real part of the solution to our energy crisis.
There were several IndyCar drivers on hand at the Kum & Go ethanol pump promotion in Ankeny, IA. One of them was Ed Carpenter, Vision Racing, seen here talking with one of the people who came out to fill up their tank.
Ed hopes that promotions like this help people learn more about ethanol. He says that he’s been racing on it for a while now and thinks it’s really positive that when the IRL switched fuel he didn’t notice any change in engine performance.
Ed says that the IndyCar Series and Iowa Speedway have created the Race to Recovery Program to help out flood victims here in Iowa. Basically, they’ll be donating $60,000 from the race proceeds to help the Red Cross and Salvation Army.
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Australian media sources report that V8 Supercars chairman Tony Cochrane announced on Sunday that all cars in the main V8 series and the Fujitsu Development Series will run on E85 made from sugar cane for at least five years starting in 2009.
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Minnesota Corn Growers treasurer Chad Willis says corn growers will be out at the events, talking to the fans and promoting ethanol. “For the past few years we’ve done an ethanol trivia contest with the t-shirts as a prize,” said Willis, who is a farmer from Willmar and one of the volunteer coordinators for the event. “It’s a great way to get our message across because it has the crowd listening carefully so they know the answer if they get called up. The best way to learn something is to learn it and repeat it.”
Appropriately on Independence Day weekend, it was an all-American win for the Rahal Letterman team, which is sponsored by the ethanol industry - including ICM, POET and Fagen - with driver Ryan Hunter-Reay at the wheel. 
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This year’s Iowa Corn Indy 250 is over and as usual, ethanol won. Actually, Dan Wheldon, Target Chip Ganassi Racing won the race. 
The Iowa Corn Indy 250 is underway here at Iowa Speedway and the weather is perfect. 
The qualifying session for the Iowa Corn Indy 250 got rained out last night so unfortunately that means the drivers will start according to their points standing. That was a blow to Team Ethanol. The car was performing very well and would likely have had a much better starting position. Ryan Hunter-Reay, who spoke at the EPIC member reception last night, says he’ll make up for it though.
We had a sunny day yesterday at Iowa Speedway until mid-afternoon when a thunderstorm popped up and absolutely drenched the track. It cut short practice plans although there’s going to be plenty of that today if the weather cooperates.
The first practice session for the Iowa Corn Indy 250 is just about to conclude and Team Ethanol’s #17 car is doing very well.
I finally got to meet the Team Ethanol driver, Ryan Hunter-Reay. Ryan was on hand at the Kum & Go pump promotion and posed here with the Highway Patrolmen who helped us with security and traffic and other drivers. He’s the tall guy on the left.
There were several IndyCar drivers on hand at the Kum & Go ethanol pump promotion in Ankeny, IA. One of them was Ed Carpenter, 