Highlights

NASCAR might be wise to switch to ethanol

(AP)
Updated: 2006-05-16 11:36

"It fits the racing mode, and we would definitely be in favor of any move that moves us away from dependence on foreign oil," said Brent Dewar, vice president of sales, service and parts for GM.

Dewar, who became an ethanol evangelist after overseeing GM's successful sale of ethanol-ready cars in Brazil, said the automaker plans another round of lobbying NASCAR to switch.

And why not? People are spending $3 a gallon to fill up, and a lot of people think oil is beginning to dry up. Even the alpha NASCAR dad, former Texas oilman George W. Bush, said America is "addicted" to oil and needs alternatives.

NASCAR could help get people fired up about ethanol — and help itself in the process.

Two years ago, the sport polished its public image by weaning itself from big tobacco sponsorship money. Given the public backlash against oil companies' record profits, now would be a savvy time for NASCAR to break its other bad habit.

It's already happening at Indy, where later this month the entire Indy 500 starting field will be fueled by a mixture of ethanol and carbon-based methanol for the first time. Next year, Indy cars will run on 100 percent ethanol.

IRL vice president of business development John Lewis said ethanol fits in with the league's image as a technology leader.

"We believe ethanol is the right decision, a responsible decision," Lewis said.

You might consider ethanol a novelty, but star drivers Helio Castroneves and Tony Kanaan probably don't. They're from Brazil, where the majority of passenger cars run on ethanol.

Ethanol has advantages, but isn't a magic potion. It has higher octane, increasing power, but doesn't get quite as many miles per gallon. Advanced refining techniques are quieting concerns that ethanol takes more energy to produce than it delivers.

And you'll have to buy a new car if you want to burn a richer mixture of ethanol than the 10 percent blended with gasoline now commonly available. American car companies already build "flex fuel" vehicles that can run on both gasoline and "E85" — an 85 percent ethanol bled sold at a handful of gas stations nationwide — and they'd like to sell more of them.

Hmm ... if only there was a group of celebrities who knew how to influence car-buying decisions. Sound like anybody you know?

Brazil does it? Big deal.

Jeff Gordon does it? Sign me up!