By DAVE BLOWER JR.
Farm World Editor

SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Race fans will need to wait another year to see if cars powered by 100 percent ethanol can last 500 miles at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but its initial test was strong.

Scottish driver Dario Franchitti won the 2007 Indianapolis 500 after only 415 miles due to rainy skies, which actually pleased many Midwestern farmers on Sunday. This year’s race was the first in which all 33 drivers were fueled by 100 percent, corn-based ethanol.

Organizers of an Ethanol Summit last week at the Speedway touted the future of the renewable fuel and emphasized the promotional boost ethanol will receive through its partnership with Indianapolis 500 and the Indy Racing League (IRL).

Strictly speaking, the partnership is between IRL and the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC).

“EPIC is reaching consumers by the millions,” said EPIC Executive Director Tom Slunecka. “With the stage that we have (at the Indianapolis 500), we will be able to reach millions more.”

Based in Omaha, Neb., EPIC is a non-profit alliance of ethanol industry leaders who are working together to grow consumer demand for ethanol as a viable source of renewable energy. Some of these leaders include ethanol plant manufacturers Fagen, VeraSun Energy and ICM.

These companies became involved in Indy-style racing through the efforts of Paul Dana, an IRL driver who died while practicing for a race in Homestead, Fla. in March 2006.

“Paul was more than a race driver; he was an avid advocate for ethanol,” said Dave Vander Griend of EPIC’s board of directors. “He dogged (the IRL) for a long time to make the switch to ethanol.
This is a place where automotive innovations and new things are tried. The Indianapolis 500 is the perfect place to test the performance of ethanol.”

Vander Griend said EPIC’s ethanol promotion strategy is a three-legged stool with performance taking the first leg. The other two legs feature ethanol’s environmental and economic benefits. He added that spreading the message and retail access of ethanol to the East Coast will help solidify the fuel’s long-term future.

“We are building plants that are moving to the east,” Vander Griend said. “The industry is moving east. We are retaining funds in this country.”

Referring to the corn-based source of ethanol, he added, “This is really an opportunity for us to grow what we grow. Ethanol is having a positive impact on corn prices for our farmers. It is said that when agriculture is good - in 3-5 years - so is everything else in the U.S. economy.”

General Motors no longer builds cars for the Indy 500, but GM is invested in the growth of the ethanol industry, said Chevrolet General Manager Ed Peper.

“We’re encouraging alternative fuel usage here,” Peper said. “Our company has stepped to the forefront of this industry. Nobody offers more flexible fuel vehicles than General Motors.”

Jim Gentry, fuel manager for Indiana-based gasoline retailer GasAmerica, said his company has believed in ethanol for more than 20 years.

“It wasn’t really fashionable to blend ethanol in the 1980s, but we believed in it all along,” Gentry said. “We’re absolutely a huge supporter of the increased ethanol production in this state and throughout the country.”

This farm news was published in the June 2, 2007 issue of Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee.