NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
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CUP: NASCAR To Use Ethanol Mixture In 2011
NASCAR will move to E15 fuel in 2011...
Mike Hembree  |  Posted October 16, 2010   Concord, NC
NASCAR Chairman Brian France (Center), flanked by NASCAR VP of Competition Robin Pemberton (Left) and Sunoco Senior Vice President Bob Owens (Right), announces NASCAR will move to a 15-percent ethanol fuel mix for the 2011 season. (Photo: Getty Images)
NASCAR will use an ethanol blend of gasoline in its three national touring series beginning at the start of the 2011 season, the sanctioning body announced Saturday.

Sunoco’s , which contains 15 percent ethanol, will be used in the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck series.

NASCAR vice president Robin Pemberton said teams have tested with the new fuel and that the transition from unleaded to the ethanol blend should be seamless.

There will be a significant change at race locations, however, as Sunoco will supply teams with the fuel from mobile tankers as opposed to fixed underground facilities.

NASCAR announced the change as part of its “NASCAR Green” environmental initiative. Although a 15 percent ethanol mixture will result in improved emissions, neither NASCAR chairman Brian France nor Sunoco senior vice president Bob Owens could put numbers on the level of enhancement.

“The reason we’re not perfectly certain is they score that, depending on who you talk to, scores that differently, so we’re not going to put a number out,” France said. “But, clearly, it is going in the right direction.”

Pemberton said teams expect to gain a little horsepower with the new fuel mixture – known as Sunoco Green E15 – and that the miles per gallon change will be negligible.

France said using American-made fuel creates jobs and is attractive to NASCAR fans because of its influence on the environment.

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.

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