One of the highlight events on Carb Day here at Indy is the Checkers/Rally’s Pit Stop Competition.
Rahal-Letterman driver Buddy Rice was doing fine until he came up against Helio Castroneves, who won the competition.
I shot a short video clip of one of the final competition matches. You can watch it here: 
Pit Stop Competition (23 sec wmv)
The big announcement from MFA Oil and Mid Missouri Energy was made this morning as we reported earlier this week. Pictured are members of the Columbia Chamber of Commerce, along with Phil Lampert (NEVC), Ryland Utlaut (Mid-Missouri Energy) and Jerry Taylor (MFA Oil) in a ribbon-cutting ceremony signifying the launch of the partnership.
Thanks to the folks at the Missouri Corn Growers Association we’ve got some audio for you. Tyne Morgan interviewed MFA Oil President, Jerry Taylor. He talks about what the company is doing to increase the availability and accessability of E85 fuel around the state of Missouri. You can listen to that interview here: 
Jerry Taylor Interview (5 min MP3)
Representatives from two farmer-owner cooperatives have announced a partnership created to make E85 fuel more readily available and affordable to Missourians by offering it at 20 percent less than regular unleaded gasoline. E85 is a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline and is used in flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs).Read More
Here’s a little tidbit of information I just learned of.
Bob Dineen, the President of Renewable Fuels Association will preside over the opening bell of the NASDAQ Stock Market to “recognize the rapidly growing US Ethanol Industry.”
It’s scheduled to take place on Tuesday May 30th, 2006 at 9:30 a.m. EDT
The American Lung Assocation of the Upper Midwest just released survey results that say that drivers want E85. Some findings from the study include:
The 2004 Indy 500 winner is the third Rahal-Letterman team driver. He’s Buddy Rice and he addressed the Ethanol Summit yesterday.
I’ve been trying to find time for a personal interview but haven’t been able to do one yet. Give me some time.
In the meantime you can hear Buddy’s remarks from yesterday. Just like his teammates, he believes ethanol is a great fuel.
You can listent to Buddy’s remarks here: Buddy Rice Remarks (1 min MP3)
The Ethanol Car crew is hard at work doing that last minute tweaking.
It’s fascinating watching these technicians work and realizing how important their job is. They want this vehicle to stay on the track during the race and cross the finish line.
It’s a practice in patience too. I’ve watched them take a part off and put it back on and do it over and over until it’s sitting just like they want it to.
It’s Miller Lite Carb Day at the track. For an hour this morning all the cars in the race Sunday got to put in some laps.
Here’s the Ethanol Car heading out of the pits. This is a view of it from the 4th floor of the media “pagoda” building.
Ear plugs are a must because it gets loud. I think one of the biggest thrills is the sound these engines make. Just to rev you up I recorded a minute of the Carb day practice session.
You can listent to the the rpm’s here: Full Throttle On An Ethanol Blend (1 min MP3)
Have you ever wondered how you fill up a race car in Indianapolis? Just like you do. Well, not during the race.
These pumps are going to have to be re-done by next year since they still have methanol printed on them.
However, someone made sure a temporary sticker was applied to show that this year it’s being blended with ethanol.
I believe the ethanol for the race this weekend is coming from the New Energy ethanol plant near South Bend, IN.
I spoke to the guys working at this track fueling station. They said the fuel gets blended prior to being delivered here.
The Ethanol Car driver, Jeff Simmons, faced the press this morning early.
He also addressed the Ethanol Summit crowd yesterday and I recorded his remarks.
Jeff started out paying tribute to the work of Paul Dana and made it clear that he’s taking up the cause of promoting ethanol as well as hoping to win races for his team.
You can listent to Jeff’s remarks here: Jeff Simmons Remarks (2 min MP3)
The co-owner of Rahal-Letterman Racing is Bobby Rahal. He’s pictured here addressing yesterday’s Ethanol Summit.
After today’s press conference I got to interview him about what ethanol means to his team and the IRL.
He believes it’s a fuel that’s finally getting the recognition it deserves. He says it’s a hot button issue right now.
You can listent to my interview with Bobby here: Bobby Rahal Interview (2 min MP3)
