Garage tours, autographs from Team Ethanol Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay and meeting Bobby Rahal of Rahal-Letterman Racing was just the beginning of the elite access for Race to Go Green Sweepstakes winners Jeffrey and Bud Carter. The brothers witnessed the finale of Canadian Club Driver Dario Franchitti’s winningest season, claiming the championship in four Indy Racing League races, including the Indy 500 and claiming the IndyCar Series Championship Title. Not to mention a rendezvous with Gene Simmons and “hot lap” ride around the track in an official Indy pace car. To top it all off, it was Bud’s birthday. What more could two guys from southern Illinois ask for? I grabbed a few comments from the brothers about their VIP experience with the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council.
Listen to my interview with with Jeff and Buddy here:
[audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/audio/sweepstakes.mp3]
The final race of the season brings reflection and reverence. The Team Ethanol pit crew paused for prayer one final time for the 2007 Indy Racing season. Just hours before, I spoke with Ethanol Promotion and Information Council Executive Director Tom Slunecka and we reflected on ethanol’s big year; the year the Indy Racing League switched to a 98% ethanol fuel-blend.
The 2007 Indy Car Series will go down in the racing history books as the first year a major motorsport embraced a renewable and environmentally-responsible fuel source, setting the standard
Just one word is fitting for Canadian Club Driver Dario Franchitti: Champion. Dario cinched the the 2007 Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 after Scott Dixon fell behind the Scottish driver in the last few hundred feet of the race after racing with Dario neck and neck. The win also secured Dario the 2007 IndyCar Series Title. The Andretti Green Racing teammate also won the Indy 500, the Iowa Indy 250 and the Richmond Indy Challenge, where he set both a track record and an IRL record. Rumor has it Dario will be switching to stock cars next season. A report on 
Motorsports and ethanol are a good fit for Ethanol Promotion and Information Council member Rob Herbon. Rob is the sales director for Fremont Industries in Shakopee, MN. I spoke with him about ethanol’s role in motorsports, what that role has done for the consumer market and what that role has done for his company.
I managed to grab some shots of Ryan Hunter-Reay as he was gearing up just before the race. Earlier, I grabbed an interview with the Team Ethanol Driver getting some final thoughts before the 2007 season closer.
The 2007 Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 race is underway! I’ll be bringing updates of the season finale race here at the Chicagoland race track throughout the day.
The 2007 Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 marks the first time the President of Eclipse Inc. has gotten to peer into the cockpit of an IndyCar and meet Team Ethanol Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay. In fact, it’s the first time Lachlan Perks has been to an EPIC sponsored racing event. Lachlan and I chatted about his experience and about ethanol.
What could be a better souvenir for the EPIC 2007 Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 experience than an autograph from Team Ethanol Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay? Well, perhaps a picture and a souvenir would be better. Well, members of the