After today’s ethanol press conference the media were treated to rides out on the track in the Iowa Speedway Pace Car. I got to do one at Indy a couple years ago in a truck so this was different.
Our driver was Davey Hamilton.
Even though we only went about 95 mph, the curves were tough to deal with. As hard as I was pressing up against the door I was very glad to have my seat belt on.
We had an inside look at ethanol press conference here at Iowa Speedway this morning. Participating were (l-r), Toni Nuernberg, EPIC, Craig Floss, Iowa Corn Growers Association, Mike Sobetski, LifeLine Foods and Troy Hobbs, Monsanto. They helped answer questions journalists here had about the fuel that’s burning in these IndyCars.
You can see individual posts with each of them on our Domestic Fuel site. But if you’d like to listen in or download the audio for your own use, here’s the links:
You can listen to Toni’s comments here: iowa-08-toni.mp3
Download it here.
You can listen to Craig’s comments here: iowa-08-floss.mp3
Download it here.
You can listen to Mike’s comments here: iowa-08-sobetski.mp3
Download it here.
You can listen to Troy’s comments here: iowa-08-hobbs.mp3
Download it here.
The first practice session for the Iowa Corn Indy 250 is just about to conclude and Team Ethanol’s #17 car is doing very well. I’ve got another interview scheduled with him in about 45 minutes.
Ryan Hunter-Reay clocked a practice lap at 181.676 mph and is currently 7th fastest. The track was heating up this afternoon as we have a sunny day, something people here in Iowa are very happy to see. There’s another practice session this afternoon and they’ll be back out tomorrow.
We’re hoping to see Ryan crossing that finish line first on Sunday!
I finally got to meet the Team Ethanol driver, Ryan Hunter-Reay. Ryan was on hand at the Kum & Go pump promotion and posed here with the Highway Patrolmen who helped us with security and traffic and other drivers. He’s the tall guy on the left. Cindy and Laura have already had a chance to meet him. This is my first Indy race of the year though.
Ryan says the Iowa race is very important, especially due to the connection to the corn growers here in the state. He says he’s learned so much from working with people in the ethanol industry, especially how it’s a real part of the solution to our energy crisis.
You can listen to my interview with Ryan here: iowa-08-hunter-reay-1.mp3
Or watch it on this video:
Pioneer Hi-Bred is sponsoring the Iowa Corn Indy 250 again this year and I spoke to Russ Sanders, Marketing Director, about how the company is involved. He’s pictured here (left) with Team Ethanol driver, Ryan Hunter-Reay and EPIC Director of Communications, Joanna Schroeder.
Russ says that the company sees a great opportunity in the biofuels arena and their participation in this race provides them with a great opportunity to get the message out about the positive benefits of a fuel like ethanol.
You can listen to my interview with Russ here: iowa-08-sanders.mp3
Or watch it on this video:
Iowa Corn Indy 250 Photo Album
I’ll be out at the track today and through the weekend following along with EPIC and finding the ag angle to the most exciting racing there is.
Consumers in Ankeny, IA were treated to a little relief at the gas pump today when the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council teamed up with Kum & Go for a pre-race ethanol promotion.
Regular (E10) was selling for $2.50/gallon and E85 was $1.85. I filled up my flex fuel van before I left.
Four of the IndyCar drivers were on hand to help out including Team Ethanol driver, Ryan Hunter-Reay, pictured here, along with Ed Carpenter who is shaking hands with a lady who asked for their autographs.
I’ll have interviews and more pictures to come. We just got finished with the promotion and are taking a break to get something to eat.
Post Update: Here’s a link to the photo album I’ve started: Iowa Corn Indy 250 Photo Album
Since Cindy alerted me to this I’ve got to post it. I would have anyway since this is too good to pass on.
Deceiver.com has a great post with this photo of Jessica Simpson and her “Real Girls Eat Meat” t-shirt. I can’t say I’ve been a fan of hers but I think she’s just made a bunch of new ones. (Picture from Bauer-Griffin)
Of course the folks at PETA (that should stand for People Eating Tasty Animals) are not happy. You really need to read the comments on the Deceiver.com post.
So, here’s a couple places I found where you can buy shirts, here and here.
The online travel agency CheapTickets.com is bringing consumers the best in barbecue and travel this summer. The agency has teamed up with Rick Browne, host of PBS’ Barbecue America, to launch bbq.cheaptickets.com.
The new site, which features a blog written by Browne exclusively for CheapTickets, reveals undiscovered BBQ destinations around the U.S. In his blog, Browne highlights lesser known, but equally delicious, hidden BBQ gems in Portland, ME, Las Vegas and San Francisco, just to name a few.
And just in time for Fourth of July travel, the site offers budget-friendly vacation packages and sales that will ease the pinch of the pocketbook. Through the BBQ site, customers have access to CheapTickets’ Summer Sale which offers $50-off qualifying flight + hotel packages of three or more nights using the promotional code SUNSALE50(1).
Now, if we could just get the airlines to serve BBQ during the flight…
