I’m saddened to say that Jeff Simmons in the Team Ethanol car wasn’t able to finish today’s race. And he was running very well. Unfortunately on lap 86 Tony Kanaan spun out in front of him and he had no where to go and wound up in the wall and was out of the race.
This was a very accident heavy race with about half the field going out in different wrecks.
Just prior to the Iowa Corn Indy 250, presented by Ethanol I ran into Bob Dinneen, the CEO/President of the Renewable Fuels Association. He was one of the industry dignitaries on the stage just before driver introductions.
I interviewed Bob and he says this whole ethanol showcase event has been wonderfully done. Here’s my interview with Bob: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/epic/iowa-corn-07-dinneen.mp3]
They’re billing it as America’s first renewable energy chopper that runs on E85. It was unveiled today at the Iowa Speedway by Iowa Farm Bureau. The bike was built in partnership between IFB and Orange County Choppers. I’ve got the press conference recorded and will update this post later with it. Right now I’ve got to get out on the track for pre-race activities.
Post Update: Here’s the audio from the press conference: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/epic/iowa-corn-07-e85-chopper.mp3]
This chopper project is part of an IFB-led movement called “Join the Ride Iowa.” This chopper will be auctioned off with the proceeds going to the American Lung Association of Iowa.
Welcome to race day here at the Iowa Speedway as we near the start of the Iowa Corn Indy 250.
To get things started we had a press conference titled, “Ethanol: Fueling Our Future” which was coordinated by the Iowa Corn Growers Association. On hand were Iowa’s state senators, Chuck Grassley and Tom Harkin, seen here getting interviewed afterward. Also on the program was IA Lt. Governor, Patty Judge, IA Sec. of Ag, Bill Northey, Peter Hemken, DuPont VP, Bob Bowman, ICGA president and Kyle Phillips, ICPB Chairman.
I did not get to attend the conference but thanks to Tim Hoskins, IA Farmer Today, I have the full audio of the press conference for you to listen to. Right now the dignitaries are touring the garages.
Here’s this morning’s press conference: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/epic/iowa-corn-07-race-press.mp3]
It has been a long day at the track here in Newton, IA for the lead up to the Iowa Corn Indy 250. I’ve updated my photo album and am calling it quits for the night since we’ve got to be back out at the track early.
This is the top of the trophy that someone will walk away with tomorrow. It was on display at an Iowa Corn Growers/EPIC reception after the IndyCars qualified.
The Rahal-Letterman team did very good today. Scott Sharp in the Patron car qualified for 4th place in the starting lineup with a speed of 181.713 mph and Jeff Simmons in the Ethanol car qualified 6th with a speed of 181.527 mph which is his highest qualifying position ever! This is a tight field with only the slightest fractions of a second separating the top qualifiers.
You can watch the race live on ABC at 12pm central time.
I think the logo for the Iowa Indy Corn 250, presented by Ethanol is very nice. It really looks good on the lawn in between the track and the pits here at Iowa Speedway.
The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council is very involved in the promotion of this race, working very closely with organizations like the Iowa Corn Growers Association and Pioneer Hi-Bred. EPIC’s executive director Tom Slunecka was in the media center this afternoon. Tom was happy. And if Tom’s happy, I’m happy (EPIC is the founding and primary sponsor of Domestic Fuel).
I got him to sit down for a minute and talk about how he thinks it’s going. He’s just as excited about this race as all the corn growers I’ve spoken with this week. He says that the work EPIC has been doing to create a brand that consumers are aware of and trust is really paying off and venues like this race as well as all the IRL races have been key to showcasing the performance value of ethanol.
You can listen to my interview with Tom here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/epic/iowa-corn-07-slunecka.mp3]
It’s practice time here at the Iowa Speedway for the IndyCars. Here’s Jeff Simmons leaving the pits for the first session which was delayed this morning due to some foggy weather problems.
Jeff had a great first practice session with the second fastest lap. They’re just now finishing up the second session.
Jeff is having a pretty good year so far. He’s currently number 11 in the IndyCar Series point standings and has a winnings total of $567,547.
We’re hoping that those numbers improve here at the track tomorrow.
Even Jeff has said that this race this weekend would be a great one to get his first win. I’ll be out here all day before heading back home after the race tomorrow and will keep you updated.
If you’d like to hear what it sounds like to take these photos trackside during practice then give a listen here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/epic/iowa-corn-07-car-sound.mp3]
Tim Recker is an Iowa corn grower and the president-elect of the Iowa Corn Growers Association. He says that corn growers are very proud of their work to bring the inaugural Iowa Corn Indy 250 to reality.
I interviewed Tim after he and other ICGA leaders unveiled the trophy for this weekend’s race. He says that the Iowa corn growers saw this race as an opportunity to really promote ethanol nationally and especially showcase all the work being done in Iowa to develop this renewable fuel resource.
You can listen to my interview with Tim here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/epic/iowa-corn-07-recker.mp3]
One of the ethanol pump promotions coordinated by the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council this week was held at Casey’s General Store in Newton, IA just down the road from the Iowa Speedway.
The manager of the store is Shawn Retman pictured here on the right. Shawn says she’s really proud of her company for taking part in the effort to promote ethanol. During the day the store sold ethanol blended regular gas for a big discount. Quite a few people were lined up to fill up when I left. Casey’s is the official convenience store of the Iowa Speedway.
You can listen to my interview with Shawn here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/epic/iowa-corn-07-retman.mp3]
Jim Sturdevant has joined POET as its new director in POET’s partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy to build a commercial cellulosic ethanol production facility.
According to this POET press release, Sturdevant joins POET’s Project LIBERTY after 28 years at EROS in Sioux Falls, the last 22 of which were spent with the U.S. Geological Survey:
As director of Project LIBERTY, Sturdevant will coordinate all efforts within POET to commercialize cellulosic ethanol. Jeff Broin, CEO of POET, said, “Due to the importance of this project to the future of POET, it is vital to have someone with Jim’s leadership abilities to facilitate collaboration and communication across the organization. There’s hardly a person at POET that isn’t involved in this project and Jim will make sure they’re all reading from the same book.”
The POET cellulosic project gets joint funding from the Department of Energy to convert an existing corn ethanol plant in Emmetsburg, Iowa into a commercial cellulosic biorefinery. The plant will be able to produce 100 million gallons of ethanol a year from corn and 25 million from corn fiber and corn cobs. This will boost a bushel of corn’s ethanol potential by 11 percent, get 27 percent more ethanol from an acre of corn, while decreasing the amount of water used in ethanol refining by 24 percent.
