Neat article I just read in Car and Driver about the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup series, which features young drivers (16 to 26 years old) driving practically identical VWs running on a 5 percent biodiesel blend.

Writer Mark Gillies got to take one of cars out during an actual qualifying run at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course near Columbus:

The engine is very torquey and the brakes are superb. The DSG transmission is so well tuned that you can leave it in auto-Sport mode and go pretty quickly, but I preferred to use the paddles and shift manually just before redline. This was on the good advice of an 18-year-old—Timmy Megenbier, a hotshoe ex-karter who was really helpful to this rookie. Despite the limited horsepower, the cars lap Mid-Ohio at an average speed of around 81 mph, which is plenty fast. There’s a strange feeling in this car, because the engine is quiet and it doesn’t rev very high.

Back in April, I told you about this series for young drivers sponsored by Houston-based HYPERFUELS, which is powering the series with its high performance Syndiesel® B5. Nice to see these guys getting a mention from one of the country’s premiere auto magazines.