The Ethanol Car wound up practice in the top 10 with a combined (2 sessions) lap speed of 183.114.

Ryan Hunter-Reay, the driver got in 166 practice laps and is ready to go for tomorrow’s race.

To get a sense of what it’s like in the pits, at least in practice, I shot some video during this morning’s session.

Iowa Corn Indy 250 Photo Album

After today’s ethanol press conference the media were treated to rides out on the track in the Iowa Speedway Pace Car.

Our driver was Davey Hamilton.

For most of us it was our first time and even though we only went about 95 mph, the curves were tough to deal with. As hard as I was pressing up against the door I was very glad to have my seat belt on.

Iowa Corn Indy 250 Photo Album

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.

You can listen to my interview with Ryan here:

Or watch it on this video:

Iowa Corn Indy 250 Photo Album

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.

You can listen to my interview with Ed here:

Or watch it on this video:

Iowa Corn Indy 250 Photo Album

The Senior Vice President of Marketing for Kum & Go is Kevin Krause. His company has been very involved in the promotion of ethanol by blending it with regular unleaded gas and offering E85 pumps. This year the company worked with the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council and the Iowa Corn Promotion Board to hold a pump promotion at their store in Ankeny, IA.

He says that the focus is on E85 and with the gas price challenges they wanted to help bring community awareness to the flex fuel vehicles that are on the road. He says it also recognizes the farmers who are helping grow the corn that’s being turned into fuel right now.

You can listen to my interview with Kevin here:

Or watch it on this video:

Iowa Corn Indy 250 Photo Album

Pioneer Hi-Bred is sponsoring the Iowa Corn Indy 250 again this year and I spoke to Russ Sanders, Marketing Director, about how the company is involved. He’s pictured here (left) with Team Ethanol driver, Ryan Hunter-Reay and EPIC Director of Communications, Joanna Schroeder.

Russ says that the company sees a great opportunity in the biofuels arena and their participation in this race provides them with a great opportunity to get the message out about the positive benefits of a fuel like ethanol.

You can listen to my interview with Russ here:

Or watch it on this video:

Iowa Corn Indy 250 Photo Album

The Iowa Corn Promotion Board was one of the groups sponsoring a pump promotion at an Ankeny, IA Kum & Go as a way to help increase awareness of ethanol which was being sold for a reduced price. Julius Schaaf is the ICPB’s Chairman and a farmer himself. I spoke with him briefly prior to the activity to learn more about how and why they’re involved.

He also addresses the flooding situation and says not to count out Iowa farmers. We certainly won’t.

You can listen to my interview with Julius here:

Iowa Corn Indy 250 Photo Album

Over on our sister AgWired site we’ve had coverage of New Holland activities at the CMA Music Fest. One of those is the annual Michael Peterson/New Holland Celebrity Tractor Race. It provides a great opportunity to promote renewable fuels to the country music loving public.

Joe Jobe, CEO of the National Biodiesel Board (left) and Chuck Leavell, keyboardist for the Rolling Stones (right) were two of the competitors out here at the Race today. In this post you can watch Joe give it all he had this year, which was good but just a tad short. I’m betting he’ll be back though. He really commends Michael Peterson for being such an advocate for renewable fuels like biodiesel (the tractor was running on B20) and also New Holland for their support. He says that this country music audience is a great one to expose to the message.

Listen to my interview with Joe:

Watch Joe ride:

2008 CMA Music Festival 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

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