Members of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council stood at attention just before the start of the Indy 500. Members clutched Team Ethanol hats to their chest during the salute to troops, a rendition of “God Bless America” and Julianne Hough’s version of the National Anthem. Julianne is a professional dancer who has appeared on “Dancing with the Stars”. She’s a two-time “Dancing with the Stars” winner. Her most recent win came last year with partner Helio Castroneves, an IndyCar Driver for the IRL. Helio is racing in the No. 3 IndyCar with Penske Racing. Right now the race is under its fourth caution. Helio is at position 14. Team Ethanol Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay has broken into the top 10 and holds position nine.
Ethanol and Racing at 92nd Indy 500
Ethanol isn’t just out on the track, but also in parking lots and parked in the infield at the Brickyard in Indianapolis, IN. And that’s something VeraSun CEO Don Endres (not pictured) is happy to see. Don is up in the Team Ethanol suite watching the 92nd Indy 500 with a few dozen other EPIC members as we speak. Just before the race I caught up with Don to talk about the success, challenges and future of ethanol over the past year with ethanol being showcased in the Indy Racing League. Don says he believes the ethanol industry is on the verge of a revolution with both starch-based ethanol and cellulosic ethanol. He adds that cellulosic ethanol should be a commercially viable option for the fuel industry in three to five years.
You can listen to my interview with Don here:
[audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/epic/indy-08-endres.mp3]
I also spoke with Jeff Broin (not pictured), CEO and founder of POET. He made a point to debunk claims that ethanol raises the prices of food. We also spoke about the future of ethanol production at POET, including cellulosic ethanol. Jeff wants to see more ethanol out at the pumps and says blender pumps are a big key to getting more ethanol into consumer fuel tanks.
You can listen to my interview with Jeff here:
[audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/epic/indy-08-broin.mp3]
Team Ethanol Moves up the Field
Team Ethanol Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay started the 92nd Indianapolis 500 in position 20, but the race rookie has already moved up to 11th. The drivers are cruising on a yellow flag right now. Keep checking back to see if Ryan can snag a top 10 spot.
Yamaguchi Signals the 92nd Indy 500 Start with Green “E” for Ethanol Flag
Olympian figure skater Kristy Yamaguchi is the latest star to win the “Dancing with the Stars” competition. She’s also the latest star to signal that the race is on. Kristy flashed the green ethanol flag and the 33 competitors in the 92nd Indy 500 took off for their 200 lap run around the Brickyard. Just thirty-seven laps into the race, Graham Rahal got too high around turn 4 and smashed into the outer wall.
Keep checking back for more updates! I’ve got pre-race interviews with EPIC members Don Endres, CEO of VeraSun, and Jeff Broin, CEO and founder of POET. I’ll post them shortly.
Indy 500 Race Fans Line Up for Ethanol
The Ethanol tent and mobile unit display at the 92nd Indianapolis 500 is a big hit with race fans. When I dropped by there was a large crowd lined up to sign up their email address and consumer information with ethanol. Those that stopped by could also jump in the seat of a Team Ethanol IndyCar replica, play some racing videogames and pick up a tiny replica of the No. 17 car.
EPIC Members Get to Know Team Ethanol Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay
He was named rookie of the year for the 2007 IRL season. Ryan is also in the running to be the Rookie of the Year for the 2008 Indy 500.
The 92nd Indianapolis 500 marks the biggest race of Ryan Hunter-Reay’s career to date. Ryan began racing for Team Ethanol last year, making his IndyCar Series debut at Mid-Ohio. That means his rookie run was seven races after last year’s Indy 500 event.
Nonetheless, Ryan set a new record when he became the 2007 IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year with the fewest racing starts. The Team Ethanol driver is also in the running to be the Indy 500 Rookie of the Year since this is his first time competing at the world’s largest racing event.
Ryan spoke to members of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council Saturday evening. He told members he was honored not only to compete for Team Ethanol, but to represent ethanol in the public eye.
Ryan says he is looking to give Team Ethanol its best ever Indy 500 finish. Having spent the past month at the track, Ryan says he’s definitely comfortable going into today’s race. Though, he says, driving the 2.5 mile oval at Indy does take some getting used to, especially when going around turn one at 233 mph: “You have to have trust in the car. That’s the hardest part. And when they crash it hurts bad, you know?” Ryan was referring to his crash during Indy 500 qualifying earlier this month.
But, he was quick to point out that when the car’s dialed in and everything is running smoothly, “It actually does feel like you’re flying low… it’s amazing those cars can do that really. Cause you don’t believe in it. Until you’re actually in the corner with 4 Gs loaded up and you get out of it.”
Ryan applauded the Team Ethanol strategy and pointed out that his pit crew has proven to be a great crew for making the car better during a race at the pit stops.
He says the biggest competitors out on the track for this year’s Indy 500 are the Ganassi cars, but he insists that he can run with the best of them. He reminded members that, after some quick fixes to the Team Ethanol car mid-race, he was the fastest car out on the track at Milwaukee.
Ryan outlined the benefits of burning ethanol on the track, like better gas mileage, smaller fuel tanks, faster speeds and improved torque. He explained that he got his start in racing through karting, which is a hobby he says he still loves.
You can listen to Ryan’s speech to EPIC members here:
[audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/epic/indy-08-hunter-reay.mp3]
Celeb Spotting at the Indy Festival Parade
Everybody Loves Raymond fans had an exciting morning at the IPL Festival Parade today. Patricia Heaton was one of more than a dozen celebrities that appeared before parade-goers. Jenna Elfman of Dharma and Greg also starred in the parade as did Dancing with the Stars‘ Julianne Hough, 98 Degrees singer Drew Lachey, soap-opera star Alison Sweeney, Indiana Pacers players Jeff Foster and Danny Granger, Indiana Fever players Tamika Catchings and Katie Douglas, Congressional Medal of Honor recipients Corporal Tibor Rubin and Retired Lt. Col. Bruce P. Crandall, and more. Even SLASH from Guns n’ Roses rode past.
But, of course ethanol fans were most excited to see Team Ethanol Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay. Ryan rode with his girlfriend in a 2008 Indy Pace Car corvette signed by racing legend Emerson Fittipaldi. He is starting 20th in tomorrow’s race.
By the way, Emerson was also in the parade and will be the official pace car driver for the 2008 Indy 500.
“E-logo” a Hit with Kids
The green ethanol flags were a hit with the crowd at the 2008 IPL Festival Parade, especially with the kids. Spectators could spot “e” flags waving at Monument Circle and along the parade route. Some kids were using the flags as drumsticks, beating in time to the college and high school bands that marched past. Well, keeping time in their heads at least. But, the kids weren’t the only ones eager to get there hands on one. Just as one of the brand ambassadors handed out the last flag, a woman came up demanding one for herself. She wasn’t too happy to find out there were none left!
Promoting Ethanol at the Indy Festival Parade
IndyCar drivers, celebs, models, Olympic gold medalists and more can all be spotted at the IPL Festival Parade. That’s a big reason why it’s such a huge event. This year was the second-straight year for a sell out crowd.
The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council took advantage of the large crowds and sent brand ambassadors to the parade. Young girls sporting the “e-logo” handed out ethanol schwag including little green ethanol flags and a bag of informational brochures.
A Glimpse of the Team Ethanol Cockpit
EPIC members got VIP access to the Team Ethanol garage today. As part of the pre-race festivities the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council sets up early morning tours for member reps. A special pass gives members privileged access and allows them to get an up close look at Team Ethanol’s two cars. Steve Wolf pointed out the defining features of the two IndyCars and described what it’s like to be behind the wheel.
Wolf said this is the first year the IRL is using paddle shifting. Until last year, IndyCar drivers had to take one hand off the wheel in order to shift gears with a stick shift. Now, they can keep both hands on the wheel while they shift with a paddle on either side of the steering wheel.
IndyCar fuel tanks are smaller since the League switched to ethanol. Ethanol gets better mileage than the previous IRL fuel, methanol. Steve explained the League needed to make the tanks smaller so the fuel didn’t outlast the tires. The smaller tank, ultimately means less weight, allowing IndyCars to achieve higher top speeds.
Steve says the pit window opens up about every 25 laps and he expects about eight to nine pits during this year’s Indy 500. Pit stops average between seven and nine seconds. Steve says the Team Ethanol pit crew is among the best in the League.
An IndyCar isn’t exaclty the most comfortable car out there to drive. Steve says the cockpit is a snug fit, with the IndyCar seat molded specifically for the driver. Ryan had to sit in the cockpit for three hours in order to get his customized seat, which Steve says is just a quarter inch thick at the bottom. Not much cushioning for a race that lasts a few hours!
Ryan will have no air conditioning in the cockpit. Steve explained the a/c was taking up too much horsepower so they had to lose it. An expected temp of 80 degrees during the race on Sunday means Team Ethanol expects it will be about 90 degrees on the track. When you consider to the fire jumpsuit Ryan will be wearing, you can imagine how hot it could get with no a/c. But, Wolf assures us that Ryan will have enough water to keep hydrated during the 200-lap race.