DAYTONA BEACH, FL – NASCAR announced today that during the NASCAR Nationwide Series(tm) race in Phoenix this past weekend it surpassed more than five million competition miles across its three national series on Sunoco Green E15, a biofuel blended with 15 percent American Ethanol made from American-grown corn. The five million miles have been accumulated across practice, qualifying and racing laps dating to 2011 when the biofuel was introduced to the sport.
“Fuel is fundamental to our sport and our teams demand performance without compromise,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition. “With more than five million miles of hard competitive driving across our three national series, Sunoco’s Green E15 renewable fuel stands up to rigorous racing conditions while significantly reducing our impact on the environment.”
Since transitioning to the biofuel blended with 15 percent ethanol, NASCAR has helped validate the fuel’s qualities in front of an audience of millions of NASCAR fans, helping shift attitudes and behaviors around the use of ethanol.
According to new research conducted in July, when compared to non-fans, NASCAR fans are nearly 70 percent more likely to support the use of ethanol blended with gasoline to fuel NASCAR race cars, more than 50 percent more likely to support the use of ethanol blended with gasoline to fuel their own car, and 40 percent more likely to support the use of ethanol blended with gasoline to fuel cars on the road today to increase U.S. energy independence. (Source: Custom Environment-Related Tracker commissioned by NASCAR and conducted by Toluna; July 2013.)
“This five-million-mile mark is yet another testament to Sunoco Green E15’s value as a fuel and a real validator of our product,” said Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy. “You couldn’t ask for a tougher testing ground and Sunoco Green E15 stands up to the challenge each weekend and that’s good news for everyone who supports renewable fuels.”
In 2011 NASCAR entered into a groundbreaking partnership with Sunoco and the American Ethanol industry, launching its long-term biofuels program to reduce emissions of the fuel used across its three national series. The transition to the biofuel reduced on-track carbon emissions and teams report an increase in horsepower.
“As the Official Fuel of NASCAR, we were truly partners in the endeavor,” said Drew Kabakoff, brand manager for Sunoco. “We worked extensively to test, analyze and develop Sunoco Green E15 in our plant in Marcus Hook, Pa., and we could not be happier with its performance during the past three years. Sunoco is proud to work with New York State farmers on the sourcing of corn and the production of ethanol in our Fulton, N.Y. plant.”
About NASCAR: The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States. NASCAR consists of three national series (the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series), four regional series, one local grassroots series and three international series. The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) governs the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, the premier U.S. sports car series. Based in Daytona Beach, Fla., with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information, visit www.nascar.com and follow NASCAR at www.facebook.com/NASCAR and Twitter: @NASCAR.
From Chris Tropeano / NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications
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