I have to say that when you hear an Indy car cranking it up on the track it does get your pulse racing along with it.
This morning was practice lap time for the Indy cars. Here’s Jeff Simmons in the pit after a couple laps. He was hitting 209 MPH last I looked.
Tomorrow’s race is relatively early and can be seen on ABC at 1pm central time.
For a preview you can watch the #17 car come by during a practice lap here: 
Jeff Simmons Practice Lap (30 sec WMV)
Out at Kansas Speedway early on a Performance Weekend Saturday I found the ethanol symbol everywhere you look.
Here’s where the fuel comes from for the race cars. It’s only 10 percent this year but going up to 100 percent next year.
It’s my first time at this racetrack. Very nice and compact and easy to get in and out of. The media staff were very friendly and helpful for this newbie.
Keep an eye on tv for the race and cheer on number 17 if you can.
After leaving Washington, DC and the convoy I’ve been travelling with for the last 2 weeks it was on to Kansas City for the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council’s “Performance Weekend.” This is a weekend of activities for EPIC members that includes Sunday’s Kansas Lottery Indy 300 race.
Here’s some members from Sterling (Colorado) Ethanol, which is building a plant in Yuma, CO checking in prior to the evening welcome reception.
Also on hand was Rahal-Letterman team driver, Jeff Simmons. Jeff will be driving the #17 Ethanol Car in tomorrow’s race.
I asked Jeff how things are going and what ethanol has meant from a competitiveness standpoint in the season so far.
He says that one effect seems to be less engine problems and attributes that to the cleaner burning ethanol blend they’re using in the Indy cars this year.
Here’s my interview with Jeff: 
Jeff Simmons Interview (3 min MP3)
At the end of the cross country convoy adventure, we had one last press conference as our closing ceremony for the historic trip.
It was supposed to be held on the Elipse at the zero mile marker but weather concerns put us indoors at the Reagan Center. Outgoing Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta was on hand just as he was at our start in San Francisco. Since our whole trip really honored the vision of one man, President Eisenhower, who signed the law creating the interstate highway system we also had a special guest on hand.
She is Mary Eisenhower, granddaughter to President Eisenhower. Like her son Merrill, who travelled with us, she is very well spoken.
Mary spoke on a very personal level and said of President Eisenhower that if she had one wish, it would be to say one last thing to him. She says she wishes he was here to see the progress that’s been made on his vision.
You can hear Mary’s remarks here: Mary Eisenhower Remarks (5 min MP3)
Domestic Fuel coverage and participation in the AASHTO Interstate 50th Convoy is sponsored by the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council.
Board members of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council are meeting in Kansas City this weekend and going to the Indy race Sunday at the Kansas Speedway. One of those members is John Malchine, CEO of Badger State Ethanol in Monroe, WI. We got a call this morning from Wisconsin radio station KFAW-AM to talk about ethanol and we had them speak to John from the board meeting.
Chuck interviewed John at the Indy 500 last month and you can listen to that interview here: Malchine (3:25 min MP3)
VeraSun Energy Corporation and Ford Motor Company have officially opened a new Midwest Ethanol Corridor. According to a VeraSun release, the corridor will increase the availability of VE85″, VeraSun’s branded E85, with the addition of 14 new retail locations along I-55 in Illinois. VeraSun’s branded E85 fuel, VE85″, is now available at more than 70 retail locations across the Midwest, including nearly 40 in Illinois.
IndyCar® Series drivers Jeff Simmons (Team Ethanol) and Vitor Meira (Panther Racing), were pumping gas in Kansas City Thursday to promote ethanol. The racers are in town for Sunday’s Kansas Lottery 300 race at Kansas Speedway but they took time out from practice to meet with fans and the media.
Casey’s General Store near the Speedway filled over 200 cars with a record 2969 gallons of E-10 during the promotion sponsored by the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council, or EPIC.
In the top picture, Kansas Speedway President Jeff Boerger poses for a picture as Vitor pumps gas for Jeff Simmons.
The two drivers and Boerger also took part in a press conference with EPIC Executive Director Tom Slunecka.
It’s the end of the convoy! Almost 3,300 miles in the Ethanol Truck.
I have a number of additional posts to do and will get them done over the coming days. Right now, it’s time to relax and get ready to fly home in the morning.
We ended the trip with a nice closing ceremony and I’ve got pics and audio from it. So stay tuned to Domestic Fuel.
Domestic Fuel coverage and participation in the AASHTO Interstate 50th Convoy is sponsored by the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council.
I don’t know if every state will make a commemorative 50th anniversary of the interstate license tag but 28 of them have so far.
These were presented to our convoy group at different stops along the way and put on display today in Washington, DC for our closing ceremony.
Domestic Fuel coverage and participation in the AASHTO Interstate 50th Convoy is sponsored by the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council.
A four hour hearing of the House Agriculture Committee Thursday covered the waterfront on mainly ethanol, even though it was supposed to be on renewable fuels in general. After USDA’s Tom Dorr, the second panel offered some really interesting testimony on lots of new developments in the field.
First up was Mark Gaalswyk, president of Easy Automation in Welcome, Minnesota who talked about self-contained, miniature ethanol plants that can make 750,000 gallons of ethanol a year. “This enables the value-added to be moved much closer to the producer themselves.” He also talked about ways they are trying to improve the production technology. “It’s looking like we can drive the conversion ratio from 2.8 gallons per bushel to 3.2 gallons per bushel and about 70 cents per gallon produced, compared to the current $1.00.” They are also working on reducing the water and natural gas usage to produce the fuel.
You can listen Gaalswyk’s full remarks to the committee here: Gaalswyk (3:25 min MP3)
