AgWired

It’s race day here at the Chicagoland Speedway and the weather is finally cooperating. Before the race started we had an ethanol press conference here in the media center.

On the podium are (l – r) Jeff Simmons, #17 Team Ethanol driver, Les McTaggert, IRL Senior Technical Director and Tom Slunecka, Executive Director for the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council.

Each of them took a turn making some comments. The conference was emceed by Tom Blattler who conducts public relations work for Team Ethanol.

Les talked about the conversion to ethanol as a fuel blend this year and going into next year. He describes the challenges it presented and the testing required to make sure it would meet the demanding performance needs of IRL cars. He said that race cars using 100 percent ethanol would be tested on the track within the next month.

You can listen to his comments here: Les McTaggert Comments (2 min MP3)

You can find a lot more of my coverage from here in Joliet, IL on Domestic Fuel.

Bobby Rahal is very happy with his Team Ethanol car and driver Jeff Simmons this weekend (so far). That’s what he told me in an interview just a few minutes ago.

I was hoping to be able to interview one of the owners of Rahal-Letterman Racing and got my opportunity by the garages. Bobby says that he’s happy with the performance of the ethanol blend of fuel that’s being used this year in all Indy cars. He joked that he wishes he was the only one who could be using it.

Like most people who are involved in the ethanol industry he’s a believer in what using ethanol means to the environment and in reducing our dependence on foreign oil. He’s happy that the Indy Racing League has had the opporunity to be the showcase for how well ethanol works as a performance fuel.

You can listen to my interview with the Bobby here: Bobby Rahal Interview (4 min MP3)

They say they’re Jeff Simmons biggest fans. They’re Liz and John Fry.

They’ve got an RV out here in the infield at Chicagoland Speedway and are ready to root for the Team Ethanol car tomorrow.

I interviewed Liz and John after hearing about their belief in ethanol and enthusiasm for following Jeff Simmons.

You can listen to my interview with the Fry’s here: Interview With The Fry’s (3 min MP3)

Jeff had an awesome practice session today.

At one point he made it a 3 car wide practice lap as he was passing other cars. That got everyone excited.

Jeff ended up with the 7th fastest practice lap this morning at 214.152 MPH.

I never get tired of hearing these engines whine on a 10 percent ethanol blend. If you haven’t heard them, here’s a sound clip that starts while Jeff is still in the pit and for about a minute after he peals out: Practice Laps (1 min MP3)

Here’s a very confident looking race car driver.

This is Jeff Simmons about to get in his car for some practice laps this morning.

I talked to Jeff at yesterday’s 7-11 ethanol pump promotion. He says he’s had a lot of luck here at this track and can’t wait to get out on it. Well he’s about to. You can listen to my interview with Jeff here: Jeff Simmons Interview (3 min MP3)

I don’t know if I’m going to get to interview all of the Indy car drivers this year but I’m getting close. Maybe by the end of this weekend.

One of several drivers at today’s ethanol pump promotion in Romeoville, IL was Tony Kanaan, Team 7-11. He had to be there since we were at a 7-11.

Tony was certainly in demand for autographs and interviews. I was able to get a couple minutes with him. He’s from Brazil and is proud of how significant a role ethanol plays in the fuel industry there and says it’s about time we got on board with it here in the United States too.

Tony believes that the environmental benefits of using ethanol are huge and when it comes to performance in your car, he just shrugs and says to look at how well the Indy cars are running this year on only a 10 percent blend.

We had a lot of young IRL fans out here today too like this little guy getting a high five from Tony.

You can listen to my interview with Tony here: Tony Kanaan Interview (2 min MP3)

Today’s 7-11 Ethanol Pump Promotion had beautiful sunshine and a crowd of people. You can find more on Domestic Fuel but I’ve got some posts for you here too.

Getting things moving this morning at the 7-11 pump promotion was Rahal-Letterman driver Jeff Simmons (front) and 7-11 Manager for Gasoline and Environmental Compliance, Scott Johnson.

They drove in to the pumps in an Indy Car 2-seater.

Before they got in the car I interviewed Scott about 7-11’s involvement with ethanol. He handles the Great Lakes division as well as the northeast and says that they’re thrilled to be using and promoting ethanol. He would love to do promotions like this at many more stores around the country. Scott also says that the company is looking at E85 and studying how or when to start installing E85 pumps.

You can listen to my interview with Scott here: Scott Johnson Interview (4 min MP3)