INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The nation’s Corn Belt may be on the brown side this summer, but corn ethanol is benefitting from the “NASCAR Green” commitment to the clean fuel. Even as questions arise in a drought year of pouring precious corn into ethanol production and putting strain on livestock producers, proponents tout the benefits of ethanol blends over fossil fuels.

Just a few short weeks after the Zarco 66 station in Lawrence, Kan., started selling the nation’s first E15 fuel, NASCAR continued its support of ethanol as drivers fueled up with E15 at the recent Brickyard 400.

Robert White, director of marketing development for the Renewable Fuels Assoc. (RFA), spoke at the Ethanol Technical Update Summit, presented by the Indiana Corn Marketing Council on July 27 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He described the push to get E15 into retail stations since the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved its use in June in light-duty motor vehicles made since 2001.

Three years of testing under the scrutiny of the EPA leaves little doubt as to the efficiency of E15 as a safe and efficient alternative to regular gasoline, he said. The RFA’s “BYO Ethanol” campaign includes an E15 Retailer Handbook on its website at www.byoethanol.org and hopes to encourage retailers to introduce and trust the new blend.

“It has been tested equivalent to six round trips to the moon,” White said. “No other fuel has been tested that much.”

Sunoco Green E15 became NASCAR’s official fuel in 2011, a big endorsement by one of the biggest brands in the country according to Mark Lambert, senior communications manager of the National Corn Growers Assoc.

Steve Vander Griend is technical manager for fuel and engine technologies with ICM, an engineering company that designs components for ethanol plants. He reported that ethanol has enjoyed a price advantage over regular gasoline from 2007 to 2011, with ethanol being 15-75 cents cheaper on a yearly average.

ICM hopes to further expand the opportunities of ethanol, as sponsor of Ignite racing fuel. “We wanted the opportunity to give writers and editors technology-based information, and Ignite has drawn lots of attention,” Vander Griend said.

Attendees at the Indiana summit heard from a team owner and also a track engine builder on the transition to E15. Robby Benton, one of the youngest NASCAR team owners at age 33, grew up in a farming community in North Carolina and tours ethanol plants and family-operated corn and soybean farms as owner of car No. 99, the American Ethanol from Family Farmers Toyota Camry, driven by Kenny Wallace.

“Last year the transition to E15 was seamless; we made only a few changes to the car, we get better mileage and more power,” Benton said. “A lot of people want to doubt ethanol’s value and be combative, but we want to make sure people know what the truth is. Kenny has met farmers and educates himself and the public on ethanol. We get a lot of questions from fans on Facebook and Twitter.”

Danny Lawrence is assistant chief engine builder and trackside engine department manager of Earnhardt Childress Racing Engines.

“When they told us we had to change fuel again – the first time was to unleaded fuel and this time to E15 – we thought, ‘Here we go again, it won’t work and we’ll have to change everything,’” Lawrence said. “But it made 5 percent more power and we didn’t have to change anything.

“It was absolutely flawless, the easiest transition we’ve ever done. The driver feels like it runs crisper, cleaner and accelerates better.”