We couldn’t be trackside in Homestead this weekend for the Toyota Indy 300, but as Ma Bell used to say long distance is the next best thing to being there so we got some on the phone reactions from a couple of major stakeholders in the IRL-ethanol future. One is veteran racer and team owner Bobby Rahal of Rahal Letterman Racing who says he is pleased with how his team qualified for the Sunday race. “The team has qualified well with Danica third, Buddy Rice sixth and Paul Dana ninth, which is by far the best qualifying he’s ever had and we’re very pleased for Paul and the ethanol car for that kind of qualification.”
Listen to Chuck’s 3:10 interview with Bobby here.
Another person who is watching the race this weekend is Wayne Mitchell, vice president of ethanol plant design and contruction company Fagen, Inc. Mitchell is also a board member of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council and he says there’s no better venue than the Indy Car Series to show how well ethanol performs. “I’m excited to be a part of the Indy Car Series and to have them embrace our fuel at the ten percent level and going to 100 percent next year. It’s going to give us some real visibility this year and a real opportunity to demonstrate the performance side of our fuel.”
Listen to Chuck’s 3:22 interview with Wayne here.
Keep your eye on #17 – the bright green and blue Team Ethanol car – during the race at 3:45 pm Eastern Sunday. Go Team Ethanol!