NASCAR's transition to new E15 fuel going smoothly

Not even five-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson will be able to best a new entrant on the NASCAR scene this season.

The winning car each week on the three national NASCAR circuits in 2011 will be powered by American-produced ethanol.

“We’re guaranteed a spot on Victory Lane in every race,” said Darrin Ihnen, a farmer from Hurley, S.D., and the chairman of the National Corn Growers Association, one of the many groups behind NASCAR’s new six-year partnership that is putting a literally home-grown fuel into its vehicles.

The new fuel – Sunoco Green E15 – is NASCAR’s answer to its environmental critics – and ethanol’s answer to its own doubters about the fuel’s capabilities.

“If their product can withstand a duration of a Sprint Cup race ... it can certainly last in your daily drive,” said Cup driver Clint Bowyer, whose No. 33 car will have American Ethanol as its main sponsor for one race later in the year. “That’s putting it to the test in a NASCAR.”

Sunoco Green E15 is a mix of unleaded gasoline and 15-percent ethanol produced by corn grown in the United States. Once the corn is harvested, it is processed into grain ethanol and then refined and blended at a Sunoco facility in Marcus Hook, Pa.

NASCAR will use approximately 450,000 gallons of the fuel throughout the year as every car and truck in its three national series will chase the checkered flag while running on the mixture.

While Bowyer said the ethanol blend, which has a higher octane than pure unleaded gasoline, has helped boost the cars’ horsepower, he said the mark of its success so far in the young season has been its inconspicuousness.

“It’s such a good product that it kind of goes under the radar,” he said.

Bowyer grew up in Emporia, Kan., a small community in the heart of America’s heartland. He said supporting a product that supports rural farmers fits in well with his background.

“That’s where we’re from, that’s what we do,” Bowyer said. “… It’s a good tie for me. It’s something that I was proud of right off the bat.”

While many of Bowyer’s backers may already be proponents – or even producers – of ethanol, Ihnen said NASCAR’s strong influence in the South gives the fuel a chance to gain a foothold in a new region.

“We think it’s an opportunity to get the true message out [about ethanol] to a very patriotic group of fans that are typically outside the Midwest,” Ihnen said.

As a component of its partnership, for which financial terms were not disclosed, the American Ethanol name and logo are on the green flag waved at each race. The group’s green stamp also surrounds the fuel port on each NASCAR vehicle.

In addition to serving as the major sponsor on Bowyer’s car for a future race, American Ethanol is also a secondary sponsor on his car all season.

Ethanol producers had long had wanted to join forces with NASCAR, said Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy, which promotes the use of ethanol and helped cement the new partnership.

“In my opinion there’s no sport more American than NASCAR and there’s no more American fuel than ethanol,” he said.

Ethanol’s new presence in NASCAR coincides with its increasing prominence at gas stations around the country. Many pumps now come with stickers saying their fuel may contain 10-percent ethanol and the Environmental Protection Agency earlier this year gave its stamp of approval for the suitability of the E15 blend in all cars manufactured since 2001 – a ruling that will likely lead to the 15 percent mixture becoming more common.

While some critics still question the use of croplands for fuel instead of food in the production of ethanol, Buis said Growth Energy didn’t have to sell NASCAR officials on the green – and performance – benefits of ethanol.

“I think they understood both what it does for America and for their sport,” he said. “They obviously did their homework, extensive testing to see how it would work.”

And so far, so good.

“They’re winning every race,” Bowyer said.

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