General Motors has been actively encouraging NASCAR to make the switch to ethanol for some time now, especially since the IndyCar Series has now gone to 100 percent ethanol and the American LeMans Series has adopted a 10 percent blend.

The Associated Press reports there is more talk on the track this year about switching to ethanol.

“Without a doubt, I think we should look into it,” driver Jeff Burton said. “Although our impact on environmental issues is probably very, very small from an actual use standpoint, from a marketing standpoint, we could have a major impact.”

Driver Kyle Petty says NASCAR’s marketing horsepower might drive alternative fuels into the mainstream, helping consumers get over the image of hippies tinkering with their 1980s Mercedes to make them run on vegetable oil. “I think once you start seeing alternative fuels show up in places like racing and places where you least expect them, then you don’t think about that guy with the Volkswagen van that runs off of whatever,” Petty said.