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NASCAR Pushed to Explore Renewable Fuels
NASCAR teams also would have to modify their cars to run on ethanol, but Dewar said the switch wouldn't be a "major investment." And he said it ultimately would be worth the hassle.
Still, even proponents don't portray ethanol as a magic wand. Despite its benefits _ it's renewable, can provide a slight performance advantage, isn't imported from politically volatile countries and burns cleaner _ ethanol isn't as efficient as gasoline.
  Driver J.J. Yeley makes a pit stop during the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., Sunday, Feb. 18, 2007. (AP Photo/Reinhold Matay) (Reinhold Matay - AP) |
Although today's cars can run on 90 percent gasoline/10 percent ethanol blends, cars have to be specially equipped to run on heavier blends of ethanol.
GM and other car companies sell "flex fuel" passenger vehicles that run on gasoline or E85, an 85 percent ethanol/15 percent gasoline blend. But E85 isn't widely distributed in the U.S.
In Brazil, gas stations carry regular gasoline and 100 percent ethanol. Most of the country's cars can run on either fuel. Given fluctuations in fuel prices, Brazilian consumers must make an informed choice every time they fill up. Dewar said gasoline is about 20 percent more efficient than ethanol. So if ethanol is more than 20 percent cheaper than gasoline, ethanol makes economic sense, as well as environmental sense. Dewar was in Brazil in December and said ethanol was 50 percent cheaper than gasoline.
Technological innovations also could drive down the price of ethanol, he said. Today, most ethanol in the U.S. is made from corn. In Brazil, ethanol is made from sugar cane. Some research indicates certain kinds of grass and even wood chips might be better suited to making ethanol. Researchers also are working to develop enzymes, Dewar said, that break down waste products into ethanol. In five years, Dewar expects cars to literally run on recycled garbage.
With all that in mind, Petty said it's time for NASCAR to think about going green.
"I think the global-warming thing, and all the things that are written about that, a lot more people are aware of the fact that we do need to do something," Petty said.
