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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
VENTURINI: Going Green In The Off-Season
Going “green” is an ongoing process for everyone, one that continues in the off-season and gives engine builders one more challenge...
Wendy Venturini  |  Posted December 13, 2010   Charlotte, NC
SPEED's Wendy Venturini. (Image: SPEED)
The NASCAR race teams have a little more homework this off-season as they prepare to transition from unleaded racing fuel to E15 ethanol in 2011.

NASCAR’s three national touring series will switch over to Sunoco Green E15, a 15-percent ethanol/85-percent gasoline blend using American-made ethanol from corn grown by American farmers, for the 2011 season, and NASCAR’s most significant step yet in its ongoing “green” initiative.

But it’s not necessarily a seamless and intangible swapping out. Engine departments are the ones saddled with the most preparation between now and the time the Daytona 500 rolls around, as they have been testing E15 for several months to determine the durability of engine parts with the new fuel. While further testing is required, initial reports regarding engine reliability have been favorable.

The verdict already is in on the fuel’s effect on horsepower, though, and Cup engines now sustain more horsepower but get lower fuel mileage because E15 is oxygenated, a characteristic that causes it to produce less carbon monoxide than unleaded fuel.

Additionally, moisture affects ethanol fuel more so than unleaded, so teams are exploring new and different ways of storing fuel at the race shops. And on rainy days at the race track, crews must take precautions to avoid any moisture seeping into the fuel. If it does, phase separation can occur, which happens when the slightest additional amount of moisture — or more than 0.5-percent water — mixes with ethanol and prevents the engine from running.

While race fans won’t notice a difference on the race track like they might with modifications to the race cars, I expect the resulting lower fuel mileage to impact pit road more than anywhere else. Less gas mileage means more frequent pit stops for the crews, putting more of a strain and emphasis on the over-the-wall pit crews. Much like we saw at the end of last year in NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup, the spotlight increasingly could focus on pit crews and who holds up best under the pressure and rigor of more stops per race. Physical and mental fitness will continue to be paramount.

The onus also will be on crew chiefs, who won’t be able to rely on 2010’s pit notes as far as fuel mileage and pit strategy are concerned. They will be learning as they go and building new notebooks with each weekend, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see more drivers run out of fuel in the season-opening races or more crew chiefs pitting before their expected fuel window to avoid this occurrence.

But teams will adjust to E15 just like they’ve adjusted to some of the other environmental efforts in the sport over the last few years. The transition to ethanol is just an extension of NASCAR’s multi-pronged environmentally-conscious programs. NASCAR leads the sports world with the largest event recycling program. Every tire, battery and drop of oil and fluid used in NASCAR racing are recycled. Additionally, the industry expanded its event recycling program this year and anticipates approximately 100 tons of material from NASCAR tracks to be recycled in 2011.

NASCAR also has joined the carbon neutralization effort and boasts the largest tree-planting program in sports with a unique plan that plants 10 trees for each green flag that waves during NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, neutralizing 100 percent of the carbon produced by these events. More than 1,000 trees were planted in 2010 alone.
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)

The sanctioning body also has assumed a leadership role in alternative energy and has joined forces with race tracks at which it competes. For example, Pocono Raceway operates the world’s largest solar-powered sports facility. The three-megawatt solar farm provides all energy necessary for the track, as well as approximately 1,000 area homes.

Several teams have jumped on board, as well. Roush Fenway Racing, for instance, recycles 96 percent of every race car, part of the organization’s achievement in the past year of an overall 10-percent improvement in indoor air quality; reduction of water consumption; increase in waste reduction and recycling; and improvement in energy usage. Team owner Jack Roush also activated a photovoltaic installation, a clean alternative energy source that should prevent more than 41,000 pounds of carbon dioxide gases from entering the atmosphere each year.

It’s pretty cool for me to watch NASCAR evolve in preserving our environment because it has been considered such a “brown” sport for so long. Going “green” is an ongoing process for everyone, one that continues even in the off-season and gives engine builders one more challenge in preparing for Daytona.

Wendy Venturini is a reporter for NASCAR RaceDay Built by the Home Depot. She also serves as a pit road reporter for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series practice and qualifying sessions on SPEED, as well as the ARCA Racing Series races. In July 2007, Venturini became the first woman in history to call an entire race on a national level during the Sprint Cup race at Infineon Raceway for DirecTV. She joined the SPEED family in 2001 as a feature producer for NASCAR This Morning (now NASCAR RaceDay) on FOX Sports Net and since has worked her way up to reporting duties in the ARCA, Nationwide and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events. Follow Wendy Venturini on Twitter (Twitter: @wendyventurini)

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