While I’m here in Lincoln, NE, Laura is still having fun in Indianapolis. She’s got photos uploaded to an online photo album so I thought I’d point you that way. Indy 500 2008 Photo Album
I’ll be driving home tomorrow but she’ll be on site for the race so you may want to keep an eye on Domestic Fuel to see what she finds. The cars will be running on ethanol so that once again, no matter who gets the checkered flag, our farmers and our environment win.
I also thought I’d point you to a post on Corn Commentary that Cindy did last night. It’s called “Bill of Confusion” in which she re-wrote some lyrics for the Temptations famous “Ball of Confusion.” It kind of summarizes the whole farm bill situation. It’s worth a read and feel free to sing it. In fact, if you sing Cindy’s lyrics and record and send them in we’ll not only post it but send you an AgWired t-shirt. C’mon. I dare you.
While I’m here in Lincoln, NE this week with Michael Peterson, Laura is in Indianapolis having just too much fun. She’s primarily reporting for Domestic Fuel with sponsored coverage for the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council. Here’s her latest post from there:
There are lots of perks that come along with covering the Indy Racing League. Perks like meeting IndyCar Drivers, photographing the world’s most significant motor sporting event (Indy 500) and meeting some of the most talented journalists and photographers of the motor sports industry. Those amazing opportunities come on a regular basis with IRL coverage. Sometimes, a few extras get thrown in. In Kansas City, I got to take a couple laps around the track with IndyCar Driver Davy Hamilton. No, not in an IndyCar. But, it was an Indy pace car and we did go 118 miles an hour around a 1.5 mile oval, getting just centimeters away from the wall. By the way, Davy will drive the #22 Hewlett-Packard/KR Vision Racing car during this weekend’s race.
Just last night, I got to take another “Indy” style spin. This time it was in a street legal two-seater IndyCar.
Tomorrow, both EPIC and the Indiana Corn Marketing Council will be sponsoring discounted fuel at Crystal Flash pumps in Indianapolis. Consumers will get to fill up with E10 for $2.97 or E85 for $1.85. EPIC is sponsoring a corvette giveaway with Hank FM on Wednesday and EPIC will host the Ethanol Summit and Panel Discussion on Thursday.
The rest of the weekend will feature member activities, driver autograph sessions, garage tours, the IPL 500 Festival Parade and, of course, the Indy 500 race.
You can find complete coverage of Indy 500 events and activities on DomesticFuel.com.
Finally, the race is over and ethanol wins again. Actually the winner of the Indy 500 is Dario Franchitti seen waving at me as he passes the media center. At the post-race press conference, he seemed like the most amazed guy in the world for having run and we certainly congratulate him.
During the press conference I asked him how he felt about winning by burning a renewable fuel in his car and how it performed. He has no problem with ethanol. In fact, he said it helped him get better gas mileage and that was beneficial in the end.
Listen to Dario talk about ethanol here:
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The race was shortened by rain and called after 166 laps. I heard several drivers saying they just couldn’t get into a normal race flow and that’s too bad but I guess it’s just the way it is. They’ll be racing again in another week. I’ll be attending two more races this season so count on some more IRL action on AgWired.
The track got dried out so we’re back to racing here in Indianapolis. However, rain is on the way again.
Jeff Simmons in the ethanol car has been running very strong today. It looks like the race will be won on strategy and pit stop timing since the cars are pretty much out of sync with their normal plan.
I’ll try to be in victory lane and the winner’s press conference after the race and will bring you the finale as we see ethanol win no matter which car comes across the finish line first.
For the first time in my 3 years at the Indianapolis 500 I got to see the other half of the Rahal-Letterman Racing ownership. Here’s David Letterman on the track prior to the race talking with his partner Bobby Rahal.
I just happened to be in the right place but I had my hands full of camera and couldn’t get my recorder out to try to do an impromptu interview. Thanks to a Rahal-Letterman team member for taking the shot for me.
This has been an interesting day so far. We’re going to get the race re-started here soon and then we’ll see what happens. In any case, ethanol will win the Indy 500!
The weather held out for a start and a pretty good race up to lap 113 which means it’s an official race.
Here’s Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning waving the green “e” flag to start the race here this afternoon.
I’ve posted the audio of the start for you each of the last couple years and this year is now different. In the following audio file you’ll hear the most famous words in automobile racing and the sound of these high powered engines as they crank it up.
Listen to the start of the race:
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Right now Tony Kanaan is in first place and that looks like it will stand up. The ethanol car driven by Jeff Simmons led one lap and his car was running great today. I’ll have more after the winner is officially announced.
The big story here in Indianapolis this morning has been the weather. It’s lightly raining now and the trucks are running the track to try to keep as much water off it as possible. You can’t race on a wet track.
We’re hoping for some clearing today and will stay here as long as we can to cover the 91st running of the “greatest spectacle in racing.” Some of the regular morning activities have at least been postponed temporarily so I guess we’ll sit tight with everyone else and see what happens.
In the meantime here’s some audio for you from last night’s reception when Jeff Simmons, IndyCar driver of the Team Ethanol Car spoke.
Jeff says that the story is how far ethanol has come and where things are at with the industry. He got involved right after Paul Dana’s untimely death last year and has had the opportunity to learn a lot about the fuel and especially how it performs in an engine. Like other drivers have been saying in the IRL and other leagues that are now experimenting with ethanol, he says they get better gas mileage and no loss of performance. I’m not an engineer but it appears that an engine that’s tuned to run properly on ethanol will not perform worse when it comes to mileage than regular gas. I’m sure that this would be the case in consumer model cars as well. In fact, I’m betting we’ll see this happen as the fuel and industry continues to develop and works with the auto manufacturers on this issue.
You can listen to Jeff’s remarks here:
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Jeff is introduced by EPIC executive director Tom Slunecka and answers a few questions at the end of his remarks which are about 7 minutes long.
I think this is an agricultural story since this man is holding something that contains ethanol and fruit juice. That works right? One of the inventions of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (Joanna Schroeder) is the “e”-tini, a very colorful martini. Actually there are 3 different ones and I’ll have to update this post to provide the details on them.
This is our bartender at the EPIC member reception last night who was very animated and enjoyed making a new drink. Prior to the reception we had him practice and did a little quality control to make sure they were just right.
It’s a fun idea that ties right into the whole idea of promoting a renewable fuel.
You may remember the tragedy that occurred last year at the first IndyCar race when Paul Dana was killed in a pre-race crash. I had conducted his last media interview prior to that. I finally had a chance to do a short interview with his wife, Tonya here in Indy. Paul is the man who worked so hard to bring the ethanol and racing industries together. He was the driver of the #17 Ethanol Car prior to Jeff Simmons. This year’s running of the Indy 500 with all the cars fueled with ethanol is the fulfillment of his dream.
Tonya is pictured here outside the Rahal-Letterman Racing hospitality suite. I was impressed with how strong she seems to be. It has to take courage to come out here in light of what happened to Paul. Tonya says that the support she’s received from friends in the ethanol industry and the IRL has been tremendous. She does see this year’s race as the fulfillment of Paul’s dream and she says she’s ready to help the ethanol industry in any way she can.
You can listen to my interview with Tonya Dana here:
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This morning Laura and I attended their annual awards breakfast. Helio Castroneves (right), the Indy 500 pole winner joined us for a short question and answer session. He was very upbeat and like all of us, hopes the weather cooperates tomorrow.
One of the members at the podium will be covering his 63rd consecutive Indy 500. That’s amazing. That would be like me saying someday that I’m covering my 63rd Commodity Classic or something like that. Who knows? It could happen.
The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council has been promoting the “e” as the brand for ethanol. So if you’re going to brand something you slap that baby everywhere you can.
In this case even on a funny looking little golf cart. The cart is being driven by EPIC director of marketing, Reece Nanfito. Waving at me is Laura McNamara.
At the time of this photo they were going to drive through the crowd to the Kid Rock concert. Me I headed on back to my hotel for a little bit of relaxation before the Rahal-Letterman Racing media dinner which was held at Mo’s in downtown Indianapolis.
It’s Miller Lite Carb day here at the Brickyard. Let’s just say that after looking at the fans it’s safe to say that not all the ethanol being poured here is going into cars.
This morning the Indy cars got an hour of practice in. I got here just in time to see them pull into the pits. Traffic was a nightmare getting here from our hotel.
Here’s Jeff Simmons, my main man, coming in off his practice laps. Everyone looks all smiles and I hope they are by Sunday afternoon as well.
During the day today I’ve been taking some pictures for the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council as well as meeting with and interviewing representatives of some of their member companies.
We got to the Scott Sharp Patron party a little late yesterday but we did sample a very good margarita. I think this is a sharp looking car don’t you?
I noticed a guest editorial on Dean Kleckner’s Truth About Trade and Technology website that I think sums up the feelings of a lot of farmers this weekend. It’s written by Tim Recker, a corn/soybean grower from Iowa.
A guy with my last name probably shouldn’t go anywhere near the sport of auto racing.
Yet I can hardly wait until one o’clock on Sunday, May 27 when the Indy 500 is scheduled to begin. Just about every corn farmer I know is equally excited.
Drivers will compete to win the 91st running of the Indy 500. And for the first time ever, their vehicles will be powered by corn: They’re using 100-percent fuel-grade ethanol.
If ethanol is good enough for the most famous auto race in the world, shouldn’t it also be good enough for your commute to work? Granted, you may not need to drive 219 miles per hour–the qualifying time of the slowest car in the Indy 500’s 33-vehicle field–unless you hit the snooze bar a few too many times.
Still, there’s no reason why ordinary motorists shouldn’t demand outstanding fuel performance from a quality product such as ethanol.
This year I’m renting a Nikon 80-400mm zoom lens to enhance my shooting experience. While I was practicing in turn 3 here at the Speedway I noticed The Other White Meat on display (rotating billboard). Now I’m hungry.
Tonight a group of us are going to the Scott Sharp, Team Patron event at El Torito Grill, a restaurant near our hotel. Here’s my thinking. End of day. Patron Tequila promotion/party. Hotel across the parking lot. Uh . . . . I’m covering that event!
It’s a beautiful day here in Indianapolis as you can see from this photo I hope. Sometimes you get a nice picture at the most unexpected times.
These are the Indy flags in front of the downtown skyline.
At today’s Ethanol Summit, which you can learn more about over on Domestic Fuel I ran into a man representing the Minnesota Farm Bureau. He wanted to meet me because he likes what we’re doing here and subscribes to my podcasts. He said he listened to the latest ZimmCast on the way here!
Here’s Reece Nanfito, EPIC director of marketing and me having fun at the GasAmerica pump promotion. We weren’t even drinking ethanol yet.
Laura took this picture. I think it captures the essence of working with a client your really enjoy doing business with. I’ve spent a lot of time with the folks at EPIC and truly appreciate not only their mission but their support in sponsoring my coverage of events and allowing us the opportunity to do other work for them too, like re-building their member website.
HANK FM, along with Gas America and EPIC ran the Green Flag Sweepstakes with the winner being picked yesterday afternoon after the pump promotion. HANK was doing a live remote throughout the event. Here’s how it worked.
Participants had to listen to the station or visit a Gas America station for keywords. Then they had to text the word to the station and if they were a winner they got a bounce back text message saying so. The winners all had to show up to press a buzzer and if it played “Dixie” you won a 2-year lease on a Flex-Fuel Chevy Silverado!
Well the winner is Kathleen from Franklin, IN. She was very excited as you can tell. I interviewed her to see how she felt and what she thinks of ethanol.
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The Gas America pump promotion here in Indianapolis generated about the most media coverage I’ve seen at one of these. I’m sure EPIC is happy.
We had two tv choppers hovering overhead throughout the event and there was a big backup of cars trying to get in for $2.25 gas. By the way, have you seen the bumper sticker yet that says, “Beer, Now Cheaper Than Gas, Drink Don’t Drive?” That’s a good one.
It just looks like Al Pell, U. S. Farm Report, is proposing to Jeff Simmons, driver of the Team Ethanol Indy car. Al was actually interviewing Jeff for the show at yesterday’s Gas America pump promotion.
I talked with Jeff and he seems to be very upbeat going into race week for the greatest spectacle in racing.
While I’m here in Lincoln, NE, Laura is still having fun in Indianapolis. She’s got photos uploaded to an online photo album so I thought I’d point you that way. Indy 500 2008 Photo Album
While I’m here in Lincoln, NE this week with Michael Peterson, Laura is in Indianapolis having just too much fun. She’s primarily reporting for 
This Sunday marks the 92nd year for the infamous 
E10 for $2.97 or E85 for $1.85. EPIC is sponsoring a corvette giveaway with 
Finally, the race is over and ethanol wins again. Actually the winner of the Indy 500 is Dario Franchitti seen waving at me as he passes the media center. At the post-race press conference, he seemed like the most amazed guy in the world for having run and we certainly congratulate him.
The track got dried out so we’re back to racing here in Indianapolis. However, rain is on the way again. 
For the first time in my 3 years at the Indianapolis 500 I got to see the other half of the Rahal-Letterman Racing ownership. Here’s David Letterman on the track prior to the race talking with his partner Bobby Rahal. 
The weather held out for a start and a pretty good race up to lap 113 which means it’s an official race.
The big story here in Indianapolis this morning has been the weather. It’s lightly raining now and the trucks are running the track to try to keep as much water off it as possible. You can’t race on a wet track.
I think this is an agricultural story since this man is holding something that contains ethanol and fruit juice. That works right? One of the inventions of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (Joanna Schroeder) is the “e”-tini, a very colorful martini. Actually there are 3 different ones and I’ll have to update this post to provide the details on them.
You may remember the tragedy that occurred last year at the first IndyCar race when Paul Dana was killed in a pre-race crash. I had conducted his 
I’ve been covering enough IRL races for EPIC that I decided to join the 
The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council has been promoting the “e” as the brand for ethanol. So if you’re going to brand something you slap that baby everywhere you can. 
It’s Miller Lite Carb day here at the 
We got to the Scott Sharp Patron party a little late yesterday but we did sample a very good margarita. I think this is a sharp looking car don’t you?
This year I’m renting a Nikon 80-400mm zoom lens to enhance my shooting experience. While I was practicing in turn 3 here at the Speedway I noticed 
It’s a beautiful day here in Indianapolis as you can see from this photo I hope. Sometimes you get a nice picture at the most unexpected times.
Here’s Reece Nanfito, EPIC director of marketing and me having fun at the GasAmerica pump promotion. We weren’t even drinking ethanol yet.
The Gas America pump promotion here in Indianapolis generated about the most media coverage I’ve seen at one of these. I’m sure 
It just looks like Al Pell, 
Cool Interactive Ideas in new media was the topic of a NAMA Boot Camp presentation by Erin Holte, Martin Williams.
