Our Energy Secretary found out firsthand what it feels like to crank up the RPM’s in an Indy Car. He took a couple laps with driver Davey Hamilton in a 2-seater.

Afterward as he got out of his gear he remarked about how just 3 laps took a toll on him. He could really feel the stress of the turns and they were only going up to about 180 mph. The fastest lap of the day looks like it was done by Sam Hornish Jr. who turned in a lap of 226.789.

With his “Ethanol Fast Lap” of the day Hornish receives a check for $2,500 which is sponsored by the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council.

The Indy Cars are running on 10 percent blend of ethanol this season before converting to 100 percent next year. With speeds like the ones we are seeing here I think they’ve proven how much of a high performance fuel it is.