Domestic Fuel

IndyCar drivers, celebs, models, Olympic gold medalists and more can all be spotted at the IPL Festival Parade. That’s a big reason why it’s such a huge event. This year was the second-straight year for a sell out crowd.

The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council took advantage of the large crowds and sent brand ambassadors to the parade. Young girls sporting the “e-logo” handed out ethanol schwag including little green ethanol flags and a bag of informational brochures.

2008 Indy 500 Photo Album

EPIC members got VIP access to the Team Ethanol garage today. As part of the pre-race festivities the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council sets up early morning tours for member reps. A special pass gives members privileged access and allows them to get an up close look at Team Ethanol’s two cars. Steve Wolf pointed out the defining features of the two IndyCars and described what it’s like to be behind the wheel.

Wolf said this is the first year the IRL is using paddle shifting. Until last year, IndyCar drivers had to take one hand off the wheel in order to shift gears with a stick shift. Now, they can keep both hands on the wheel while they shift with a paddle on either side of the steering wheel.

IndyCar fuel tanks are smaller since the League switched to ethanol. Ethanol gets better mileage than the previous IRL fuel, methanol. Steve explained the League needed to make the tanks smaller so the fuel didn’t outlast the tires. The smaller tank, ultimately means less weight, allowing IndyCars to achieve higher top speeds.

Steve says the pit window opens up about every 25 laps and he expects about eight to nine pits during this year’s Indy 500. Pit stops average between seven and nine seconds. Steve says the Team Ethanol pit crew is among the best in the League.

An IndyCar isn’t exaclty the most comfortable car out there to drive. Steve says the cockpit is a snug fit, with the IndyCar seat molded specifically for the driver. Ryan had to sit in the cockpit for three hours in order to get his customized seat, which Steve says is just a quarter inch thick at the bottom. Not much cushioning for a race that lasts a few hours!

Ryan will have no air conditioning in the cockpit. Steve explained the a/c was taking up too much horsepower so they had to lose it. An expected temp of 80 degrees during the race on Sunday means Team Ethanol expects it will be about 90 degrees on the track. When you consider to the fire jumpsuit Ryan will be wearing, you can imagine how hot it could get with no a/c. But, Wolf assures us that Ryan will have enough water to keep hydrated during the 200-lap race.

2008 Indy 500 Photo Album

What would Team Ethanol Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay do if he won the Indy 500? Check out this IndyStar.com video to find out:

2008 Indy 500 Photo Album

One of the largest snack suppliers in the U.S. is also the supplier of ethanol fuel for the Indy Racing League. Yup, LifeLine Foods is fueling and feeding the American public. Bill Becker, president and CEO of Lifeline, says that’s just the tip of the iceberg. LifeLine is investing in technology that will allow the company to do much more than just snack food and biofuel. Bill says his company can also remove fiber and protein from the same corn crop that it extracts snack foods and ethanol. These nutrients, he says, could potentially serve as a supplement to the world’s hungry. And that’s still not everything Bill says LifeLine can do with corn.

The story of how a small, farmer-owned company based out of St. Joseph, MO can provide snacks for major food companies, fuel one of the world’s most presitigious motor sports and more is quite a remarkable one. You can listen to my interview with Bill and hear his story about LifeLine here:
becker-indy-08-summit.mp3

2008 Indy 500 Photo Album

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Many consider Emerson Fittipaldi, a two-time Indy 500 champ, “a true King of the Brickyard.” But not only is Emerson an IRL legend, he’s a BIG supporter of ethanol. Perhaps even a “King of Ethanol.” Emerson is a Brazilian ethanol producer and spoke at yesterday’s Ethanol Summit hosted by General Motors.

The IRL racing legend told the story of his long history, not just with racing, but also racing with ethanol. Although the IRL fully switched from methanol to ethanol last year, Emerson is well acquainted with racing on the biofuel. At age 14, the Indy champ used ethanol in motorcycles and go-karts.

Emerson will get another chance to represent ethanol at the at the races. He is this year’s flex-fuel Corvette Z06 pace car driver. This is the first time the official Indy pace car will run on E85.

“The message of the pace car will be showing to the world that a passenger car even a high performance car like the corvette will run E85 and runs beautiful”,” Emerson said.

He added that the Indy Racing League itself is setting a worldwide example “of how a motor race can show the world, show the public how efficient the engines run with ethanol.” He called the IRL’s switch to 100 percent ethanol, “the endorsement of ethanol in the world through motor race.”

Just after the Summit I spoke with Fittipaldi one-on-one about racing with ethanol as a boy and being a part of ethanol’s growing success in Brazil today. You can listen to my interview here:
fittipaldi-indy-08.mp3

2008 Indy 500 Photo Album

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The ethanol industry in Brazil has been developing some major traction. Marcos Jank, President of UNICA, says the demand for ethanol in Brazil is now matching that of the demand for gasoline. He says ethanol is gaining ground and Brazil “won’t move back to gas.”

Marcos was one of seven speakers at today’s Ethanol Summit held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway today. General Motors sponsored the event. The object of the Summit was to explore Brazil’s strong and sustained success with ethanol while also taking a look at where and how the U.S. ethanol industry has room to grow.

Marcos and Indy racing legend Emerson Fittipaldi – a Brazilian ethanol producer – highlighted a number of milestones the Brazilian ethanol industry has already attained:

• All fuel sold in Brazil contains a 20 to 25 percent blend of ethanol
• The unsubsidized ethanol industry offers a fuel that is on average one dollar below the price of gasoline
• Virtually all 33,000 gas pumps offer E100
• Just one percent of the 40 percent of arable land in Brazil is being used to produce sugarcane ethanol
• Forty-five percent of fuel for cars is from sugarcane
• Sugarcane ethanol production is 100 percent self-sufficient
• The food industry is growing faster than the ethanol industry
• Ninety percent of all new automobiles sold are flex-fuel automobiles
• One-hundred percent of GM vehicles produced in Brazil are flex-fuel
• Twenty percent of all cars are flex-fuel vehicles today
• Fifty percent of all cars will be flex-fuel vehicles by 2012
• Three percent of electricity is from sugarcane
• Honda and Yamaha are introducing flex-fuel motorcycles this year

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Jeff Simmons: not just a racing pro but a national writing champ!

I caught up with former Team Ethanol Driver Jeff Simmons today. Although Jeff is no longer with Rahal-Letterman Racing he will still be out at the Brickyard competing this year… and not just once, but twice. Jeff is racing in both the Indy Lights Series Freedom 100 and the IndyCar Series Indy 500. You can watch for Jeff in the #41 ABC car for A.J. Foyt Racing for the Indy 500.

Jeff and I had a little chat during the driver interviews and we covered everything from his “Indy two-step,” to choking down boiling water in a boiling cockpit to his editorial for EPIC winning the top honor at NAMA this year.

You can listen to my chat with Jeff and another reporter here: indy-08-simmons.mp3

2008 Indy 500 Photo Album

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There are lots of perks that come along with covering the Indy Racing League. Perks like meeting IndyCar Drivers, photographing the world’s most significant motor sporting event (Indy 500) and meeting some of the most talented journalists and photographers of the motor sports industry. Those amazing opportunities come on a regular basis with IRL coverage. Sometimes, a few extras get thrown in. In Kansas City, I got to take a couple laps around the track with IndyCar Driver Davy Hamilton. No, not in an IndyCar. But, it was an Indy pace car and we did go 118 miles an hour around a 1.5 mile oval, getting just centimeters away from the wall. By the way, Davy will drive the #22 Hewlett-Packard/KR Vision Racing car during this weekend’s race.

Just last night, Joanna and I got to take another “Indy” style spin. This time it was in a street legal two-seater IndyCar.

Check out our video here:

2008 Indy 500 Photo Album

The media has been keeping Team Ethanol Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay busy. When I popped in for the first session of driver interviews I saw that media interest in Ryan maintained a steady flow. Phillip Wilson from the Indianapolis Star got a quick video interview of Ryan. Phillip says the video will be posted on IndyStar.com later today. Be sure to check it out!

2008 Indy 500 Photo Album

Well, from head to shoe really. The E-logo is everywhere here at the Brickyard. From IndyCars and trailers to flags and t-shirts. But, so far, the most interesting places I spotted the logo during this year’s Indy 500 race weekend were on a ‘Cat in the Hat’ style hat and painted on a Keds kid-sized shoe.

Mark Lackner is the owner of the “special replica” of the Team Ethanol IndyCar. He says he won the painted shoe at a trucker’s event. He explained the “paint job” was done with official Team Ethanol IndyCar paint. I spotted him at the IndyCar driver autograph session where he was snagging a signature from former Team Ethanol Driver Jeff Simmons. Now, the shoe is signed by both Jeff and current Team Ethanol driver Ryan Hunter-Reay. I pointed out the shoe to Joanna Schroeder, the Director of Communications for the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council. She is going to have Bobby Rahal sign the shoe so Mark has a complete collection of sigs. She’s also sending him a real replica of the the Team Ethanol car. Mark has the Simmons and Hunter-Reay replicas, but not the Paul Dana replica. Joanna is making sure Mark’s collection of Team Ethanol IndyCar replicas is complete too.

The video of the 2008 Corvette winners is finally uploaded on Youtube. Click here to view our post with the video.

2008 Indy 500 Photo Album

The 2008 Indy Pace Car corvette wasn’t the only shiny new toy to check out at the giveaway this morning. The Indiana Corn Marketing Council debuted its new interactive mobile marketing unit complete with videos detailing the production of ethanol and a database of local fuel retailers that offer E10 and E85 fuel blends. Visitors can even print off a list of local stations.

I caught up with Indiana Corn’s Mark Walters again, as well as ICMC’s Mike Shuter (pictured), the council’s President and a Frankton, IN farmer. We talked about the new mobile marketing unit, the truth about ethanol as they see it and how IN corn fits into the ethanol industry. You can listen to my interview with Mark and Mike here: shuter-walters-indy.mp3

2008 Indy 500 Photo Album

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Well winners, really. And no, they’re not the two cute girls to the right. They were so cute though that I had to use their picture. It was Darron Stewart and his two sons that had brought the magic touch from Carmel, IN to a certain red buzzer. The troupe won a 2-year lease to a 2008 Indy pace car corvette at this morning’s special giveaway. The giveaway was the final event in a month-long promotion to raise awareness of ethanol. Hank FM, The Indiana Corn Marketing Council and the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council have been hosting pump promotions and corvette qualifying opportunities throughout the month of May. Qualifying contestants drew numbers and lined up accordingly to try their shot at pressing the buzzer. Darron and his boys were the lucky ones and walked away with the keys to a 2008 vette.

Check out video of the winning contestants below:

EPIC’s Joanna Schroeder manned the video. Thanks Joanna.

2008 Indy 500 Photo Album

Newbie IndyCar Driver Justin Wilson (pictured 2nd from left) says race car drivers want to go as fast as technology will let them. He says ethanol helps IndyCars do just that. Justin is referring to the smaller tank size and the improved torque when burning 100 percent ethanol fuel. When the IndyCars operated on methanol just a few years ago, the gas tanks held 34 gallons. But now, drivers see the same kind of mileage while burning just 22 gallons of ethanol. Justin says that amounts to extra performance and higher speeds.

Justin began driving in the Indy Racing League this year when Indy and the Champ Car World Series merged in February. He pilots the No. 2 McDonald’s car for Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing.

I spoke with Justin at today’s pump promotion sponsored by EPIC and the Indiana Corn Marketing Council. You can listen to Graham talk about his experience with driving on ethanol here: wilson-justin-pump.mp3

2008 Indy 500 Photo Album

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…sweet-smelling that is. Graham Rahal, driver of the No. 06 Newman/Haas/Lanigan Dallara was one of three IndyCar drivers at the Crystal Flash pump promotion in Carmel, IN this afternoon. The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council and the Indiana Corn Marketing Council sponsored the event.

This is Graham’s first season racing with an engine that runs on 100 percent ethanol fuel. The switch to an ethanol-fueled car also proved to be rather sweet for the 19-year-old Indy competitor. Graham won his first ever Indy race in St. Petersburg, becoming the youngest driver to win a major motorsports victory. Graham snagged the 13th pole position for his biggest race to date, the Indy 500.

I managed to snag some face time with Graham in between radio spots and autograph requests during today’s pump promotion. You can listen to Graham talk about his experience with driving on ethanol here: rahal-graham-pump.mp3

2008 Indy 500 Photo Album

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Team Ethanol Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay says pump promotions help emphasize what ethanol is all about: giving consumers a break at the pump as fuel prices continue to spike. Ryan drives the No. 17 Rahal-Letterman Racing IndyCar in the Indy Racing League and he and two other IndyCar drivers were out at the pumps in Carmel, IN today educating consumers on a fuel that’s become the focal point of controversy.

The Indianapolis Star featured a cover story about the recent spotlight on ethanol, fuel prices and food prices. The local newspaper quoted Indiana Agriculture Director Andy Miller saying Congress’ proposed reduction or even end to federal ethanol subsidies “would be a major blow” for his state.

And that’s what Ryan wants to point out: that ethanol would be a considerable blow for consumers too… in every state. Ryan says, in some cases, ethanol helps keep gas prices down by as much as $0.50 a gallon. He says consumers have many questions about ethanol and its negative propaganda, wondering what’s true and what’s false. That’s where pump promotions help. Ryan says filling up on E10 or E85 helps open consumers’ eyes and gives them an opportunity to ask both ethanol experts and IndyCar drivers questions. “It’s worked for the IndyCar Series at 240 miles per hour, it can work for these folks driving at 35,” Ryan said.

I spoke with Ryan about how pump promotions are still a relevant tool in getting out the facts about ethanol. You can listen to my interview with Ryan here: hunter-reay-ryan-pump.mp3

2008 Indy 500 Photo Album

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