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<\/p>\n<\/div>The IndyCars racing in\u00a0the Detroit Grand Prix at Belle Isle this weekend will carry the logos of Chevrolet,\u00a0Honda, Firestone and others.\u00a0With 100,000 in attendance on the island and nearly 2 million more watching on TV and the Internet, these brands benefit from their association with high-performance motor racing.<\/p>\n
One product that hasn\u2019t benefited\u00a0is E85 ethanol fuel.<\/p>\n
Politically popular in Washington and in Midwest presidential primary states like Iowa, the corn-based kindling has been the fuel of choice in IndyCar racing since 2012. But it has failed to catch on with consumers given its higher\u00a0cost and decreased fuel efficiency.<\/p>\n
E85 \u2013 a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline that’s also known as flex-fuel\u00a0\u2013 is one of a number of fuel-centered public relations moves that major racing series have made.<\/p>\n
Despite its lack of traction\u00a0with the public, E85 has helped shield IndyCar from the wrath of green groups, proved a workable fuel for racing teams\u00a0and delivered competitive racing. By being politically pro-active, American racing has managed to stay a step ahead of regulators even as production vehicles have become one of the most heavily regulated industries in the U.S.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere have always been politicians and environmental groups that decry auto racing as a waste of fuel,\u201d says Stephen Cole Smith, a veteran racing writer with Autoweek. \u201cE85 fuel has been great PR for IndyCar and with which to answer their critics.\u201d<\/p>\n
The same can\u2019t be said for other series like Formula One and the World Endurance Championship for sports cars. They have\u00a0tried to currying favor with global governments by using trendy diesel and electrified racers,\u00a0only to be burned by high costs and shifting political winds.<\/p>\n
Under domestic political pressure to make the U.S. more oil-independent during the Iraq war, the Bush Administration embraced ethanol fuel in 2005 by mandating that\u00a0gasoline be mixed with 10 percent ethanol. That’s what you filled your gas tank with this week.<\/p>\n
Chevrolet, an IndyCar sponsor,\u00a0has lobbied for more ethanol alternatives,\u00a0and its large pickups, SUVs\u00a0and Impala sedan are all\u00a0E85 capable (so-called flex-fuel vehicles<\/a>). By 2012, IndyCar followed suit, embracing E85 for its new, twin-turbo V-6 engines which it continues to run today.<\/p>\n \u201cPartners like Chevrolet and Honda have been very supportive,\u201d says IndyCar spokesman Curt Cavin. \u201cBoth are comfortable with the program, and certainly everything that happens around our event at the Iowa Motor Speedway is good for ethanol. It\u2019s the best way for us to contribute to green initiatives and be good public citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n IndyCar\u2019s embrace of ethanol a decade ago buoyed hopes that it would become the fuel of choice for consumers.<\/p>\n “This shows average Americans what they can do to help meet the energy challenge our country faces, and it makes the point in a way a politician never could,” Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Indiana, told The Washington Post at a celebratory, handshake ceremony with Indianapolis\u00a0Motor Speedway owner Tony George. “If a race car going 220 miles an hour can be powered by 100 percent ethanol, the family car can be, too.”<\/p>\n Yet, ethanol fuel has failed to catch on with the public.<\/p>\n Today, E85 is available in around\u00a0300 gas stations in Michigan,\u00a0a<\/a>ccording to the Renewable Fuels Association<\/a>, while just 3\u00a0percent of stations nationwide are equipped with the fuel. Studies have shown that few Americans choose E85 fuel at the pump. Sunoco, the official E85 fuel supplier to IndyCar offers, sells E85 at some of its Michigan stations.<\/p>\n IndyCar\u2019s international brother, Formula One, meanwhile, has adopted hybrid-electric powertrains as it tries to stay in step with European governments’\u00a0promotion of battery-powered vehicles. The move, however, has been expensive and has led to a stratification of the sport as only a few teams can afford to develop expensive hybrid technology.<\/p>\n Attendance is down and drivers lament that the sport has lost its luster. While IndyCar celebrated another gripping Indy 500 finish over Memorial Day, Formula One star Fernando Alonso lamented \u201cthe most boring race ever\u201d at Formula One\u2019s iconic Monaco Grand Prix the same weekend.<\/p>\n \u201c(Formula One) is facing an existential crisis,\u201d\u00a0wrote Wheels.ca<\/a>, one of a wave of media examining the sport’s troubles. \u201cThe dismal performance of turbo hybrids \u2013 and the tepid reception from fans \u2013 should be more than enough impetus to make the changes necessary to restore the exhilarating noise and performance motorsport fans crave.\u201d<\/p>\n Formula One’s struggles come on the back of difficulties in Europe’s major sports car series, the World Endurance Championship, and its signature race, the 24 Hours of LeMans. Europe’s green demands\u00a0have wreaked havoc on that sport as well as the\u00a0cost of fielding a hybrid-powered\u00a0<\/a>team climbed into the nine figures.<\/p>\n Manufacturers like Audi had used the series to showcase turbo-diesel engines (which combined with batteries made for exceptionally powerful, efficient endurance engines) favored by Euro tax policy since the 1990s. But with Dieselgate and global warming concerns, the fickle political winds turned against diesel and gas engines.\u00a0Audi<\/a>\u00a0and Porsche have dropped out of the WEC to pursue the all-electric Formula E Series.<\/p>\n IndyCar has benefited from this turmoil as its ethanol strategy has kept costs stable. Despite the fact that E85 is 25 percent less efficient than gas, it can still be used (with some technical tweaks) in familiar V-6 racing engines.<\/p>\n “Though E85 fuel can only do about 30 laps at Indy, that’s about the life of the tires as well,” says IndyCar’s Cavin. “So it works out pretty well.”<\/p>\n