Iowa Sports
IndyCar Series use of ethanol makes Iowa a natural fit
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Des Moines market is by far the smallest one the IndyCar Series will run in this season, at less than half the size of the other metropolitan regions.
But driver Buddy Rice said Iowa has several things going for it. There’s the new speedway, a ready-made fan base, and one factor near and dear to the IndyCar Series’ heart: the state’s status as a leader in the ethanol industry.
The fuel is key to the IndyCar Series, which switched to 100 percent ethanol for all its cars for the 2007 season and has been outspoken in its support of the renewable fuel.
“With Iowa, obviously with us running 100 percent ethanol, it’s just a perfect fit to come here to Iowa, where a lot of the corn is coming from,” said Rice. “There is a big push for the ethanol program, so it makes it an obvious fit.”
Rice is one of about 20 drivers who are scheduled to run in the inaugural Iowa Corn Indy 250 at the Iowa Speedway in Newton on June 24. Rice, 31, has been in the IndyCar Series since 2002, and is best known for winning the Indy 500 in 2004.
In town Monday on a promotional swing before the race, Rice said that he’s been pleased with the switch to ethanol through four races this season.
Indy cars have gone from a 30-gallon tank filled with methanol to a 22-gallon tank because of ethanol’s stronger fuel economy.
“The efficiency of the ethanol is much better. You still have the performance, the speed...you can get a lot farther on it,” said Rice, who moved from Rahal Letterman Racing to Dreyer & Reinbold this season. “It’s just a lot more efficient.”
Of course, Indy racing didn’t come to Iowa simply because of ethanol. The state has a long history of supporting open-wheel racing, most notably with the Knoxville Nationals every August, which routinely draws crowds of more than 30,000.
Indy officials are banking on the fact that those fans will embrace the opportunity to see one of the world’s top racing circuits in person. Plus, Indy racing has been successful in the Midwest, although races in Kansas, Michigan and Wisconsin are run in areas with larger population than Iowa.
“There’s a lot of open-wheel racing here, and even though it’s done on the dirt, those people can relate to running an open-wheel car,” Rice said. “Everyone can understand what’s going on.”
Rice hasn’t driven the track at the Iowa Speedway, but he’s heard good things about it from other drivers. The setup of the track, a 0.875-mile oval that rates as the second-shortest on the IndyCar Series, should also add to the excitement level, Rice said.
“We’re going to be able to take our 1.5 mile package, our show, and shrink it down to under a mile. Side-by-side racing, (and) the place has a lot of grip, something that we don’t have at a lot of our smaller circuits,” Rice said. “Obviously they feel that this is a good fit and it’s going to be a big draw.”
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