Ethanols Wins at Indy - May 29th, 2007
Even if you’re not a particular fan of auto racing, you’ve probably heard by now that Dario Franchitti was the winning driver of the 2007 Indy 500 this past Sunday.
What you may not be aware of is that Franchetti’s car was fueled by E100 - 100% ethanol - which, according to a conversation he had with Chuck Zimmerman of Domestic Fuel “helped him get better gas mileage and that was beneficial in the end.”
You also may not have realized that this year ALL the cars racing in the Indy 500 were running on ethanol, making it a big news day for EPIC (the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council) as well as Franchetti. All Indy 500 cars used Honda motors specially built to use 100% ethanol fuel, as well as providing better performance overall, than engines running on regular fuel.
Tom Branahan, CEO of Glacier Lake Energy, and EPIC’s founding father, told Laura of Domestic Fuel: that he is “confident the 91st Indy 500 race will also demonstrate that use of ethanol also amounts to less wear and tear on the IndyCars.”
Branahan also pointed out that as the ethanol industry expands, more carmakers will offer ethanol-friendly engines, making the use of a renewable fuel source much more widespread.
Currently, about 5 billion gallons of ethanol are produced each year, which represents only 5% of the American fuel stream.
For more information on the use of ethanol at the Indy500, see DomesticFuel’s string of posts.
Posted on May 29th, 2007 by QueenMab
Filed under: alternative fuels |
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