The official name for Saturday’s IndyCar Series opener may have been the XM Satellite Radio Indy 300, but on ESPN2 it was the 2007 Ethanol IndyCar 300 Presented by XM.
Ethanol could not have been more prominent in the ESPN2 coverage of the race, which included the “e” brand on graphics, features about the fuel, regular mentions that the drivers were “filling up with ethanol” and the brand new 30-second ethanol television spots. ESPN2 on-line coverage includes side and top banners for ethanol. People watching the race could hardly fail to know that the cars are now running on 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol.
BY THE NUMBERS:
– 5,000 – The number of gallons of ethanol that were shipped to Homestead-Miami Speedway for use by IndyCar Series teams this weekend.
– One – The number of plants that produce ethanol for the IndyCar Series. Renova Energy in Torrington, Wyo., is the exclusive supplier.
– 2005 – The year the IndyCar Series first announced plans for use of ethanol, after years of running on methanol.
– 10 – The percentage of ethanol blended with methanol in 2006, to prepare the IndyCar Series to the move to 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol in 2007.
– 22 – The size of an IndyCar Series car fuel tank. Since ethanol is more efficient than methanol, the IndyCar Series has reduced the size of its fuel tanks to 22 gallons this season.
– 6,372 – The number of laps run during the preseason Open Tests using 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol and the new 3.5 liter Honda HI7R V-8 Indy engine with no failures.
Here’s the winner of the first Indy car race of the year, Dan Wheldon. It’s the third time in a row that Dan has won the race. He did it in dominating fashion too and afterward said it was a lot of fun running the race.
The Team Ethanol car driven by Jeff Simmons is out of the race after what looked like a slide coming out of a turn which turned the car around and then two other cars crashed into it. Fortunately no one was seriously hurt. In fact, they just reported that all three drivers have been assessed and released, so they’re okay.
Here’s Jeff Simmons in the Ethanol Car on the opening lap of the race tonight.
This year the IRL is giving new meaning to the “green flag.” The official green flag has the ethanol logo.
This is the command center for the Rahal-Letterman Ethanol Car seen from trackside just before the race got started. We’ve been hoping the elements would cooperate but it’s a little iffy.
While I was conducting an interview in the Rahal-Letterman hospitality tent, the owner stopped in looking all relaxed.
One of the newer members of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council is 
Dan Schwartzkopf here is VP of Renova Energy and attending the first IRL race of the season. Dan races himself and has been featured here on Domestic Fuel before.
I mentioned the IRL fan zone earlier. One of the tent displays here features the mobile education center that’s being put together by EPIC.