Sen. Talent Urges NASCAR to Use Ethanol
Sen. Talent Urges NASCAR to Use Ethanol
U.S. Senator Jim Talent (R-Mo.) is urging NASCAR to use ethanol-blended gasoline in their stock car races. Sen. Talent, co-chair of the Senate Biofuels Caucus sent the letter to Brian France, CEO of NASCAR, together with Senators Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) and Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.). NASCAR recently switched from leaded gasoline to unleaded gasoline and now has the option to use fuel blended with corn-based ethanol.
"We commend NASCAR for switching to unleaded gasoline," said Sen. Talent, a member of the Senate Energy Committee. "Now they have the opportunity to choose an unleaded fuel that's blended with the corn our producers grow in Missouri and other farm states. This decision would provide and economic stimulus to rural communities and help create new jobs in the agricultural sector. The Renewable Fuels Standard we added to the Energy bill last year will also help ensure there is a healthy supply of ethanol for NASCAR."
The senators pointed out that with an octane rating of 113, ethanol is a proven replacement for lead in gasoline and entirely capable of providing the kind of performance necessary to compete in the world of stock car racing. Today's engines and fuel systems are well suited to ethanol. And its clean-burning characteristics reduce exhaust emissions compared to regular unleaded gasoline.
Sen. Talent, who added the Renewable Fuels Standard to the Energy bill in Committee said that with a minimum of 7.5 billion gallons of renewable fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel scheduled to be added to the nation's fuel supply over the next six years, there will be plenty of corn-based ethanol available for NASCAR.
"Using ethanol will also help reduce America's dependence on foreign oil," Sen. Talent said. "We now import nearly sixty percent of our oil from abroad. NASCAR has a unique opportunity to be part of the solution in helping us become more energy independent."
In 2003, Sen. Talent and others in the Senate Biofuels Caucus encouraged the Indy Racing League (IRL) to switch from methanol to ethanol. Early last year, the IRL announced they are switching to 100 percent ethanol by 2007.
Sen. Talent is a member of the Senate Energy Committee, the Senate Agriculture Committee and serves as Co-Chair of the Senate Biofuels Caucus.
http://talent.senate.gov/News/singleNews.cfm?NewsID=1520