For five years and more than seven million miles, American Ethanol and NASCAR have worked together to increase horsepower and decrease greenhouse gas emissions in the sport by 20 percent with Sunoco Green E15, a renewable fuel blended with American Ethanol.
“This has been a tremendous partnership,” said Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy. “We are thrilled to help NASCAR in its green efforts and NASCAR’s high performance racing has been the perfect validator for E15, a cleaner burning fuel that is less expensive and has a higher octane content, which improves performance. Furthermore, since NASCAR switched to Sunoco Green E15 five years ago, we have seen a very a substantial change in the national dialogue regarding ethanol – when people see NASCAR rely on ethanol week after week in all three of its national racing series, they understand that it is a fuel that they can rely on as well. That is why this weekend we are unveiling a new American Ethanol paint scheme with E15 prominently located on the hood of Austin Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet SS,” said Buis. embargoed
Dillon, who has been advocating the benefits of ethanol for three years since NASCAR Race to Green™ began, drove his first American Ethanol paint out of the 2015 racing season to at 27th place finish in Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400 race at Richmond International Raceway.
“American Ethanol has stepped up to help our nation’s economy, but I really like the environmental contributions the homegrown fuel has made to the sport,” said Dillon. “I am proud to wear the American Ethanol colors in NASCAR and I hope I can bring them to Victory Lane in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series™ in 2015.”
NASCAR is a leader in green initiatives, both on and off the track. In addition to reducing the sport’s environmental impact, NASCAR is empowering consumers to make environmentally conscious decisions in their daily lives by validating green technologies that are available at the pump and developing educational tools for fans. The most recent example is an online tool which allows fans to measure their carbon footprints.
“Away from the track the ethanol we use in our family cars cuts greenhouse gas emissions so well it’s equivalent to taking more than 20 million vehicles off the road. That’s a contribution to society that makes farmers proud, but E15 gives us a means to do even better,” said National Corn Growers Association President, Chip Bowling.
“E15 American Ethanol turns our unrivaled ability to produce corn into a national asset. Consumer demand for ethanol is good for family farmers and fans appreciate that. We have grown the 12 largest corn crops in history in the last 12 years so ethanol demand is critical. It means farmers can pay their bills, reinvest in the broader economy and keep family operations like mine viable for future generations.”
“In 2011, we made the seamless transition to Sunoco Green E15 and it has proven to be safe and reliable under the most demanding competition conditions. The NASCAR Green platform is about empowering fans with information to help them make decisions about their own green behaviors, and American Ethanol has been a great partner to us in that regard. According to a 2014 study by Toluna, when compared to non-fans, NASCAR fans are more than 75 percent more likely to support the use of ethanol blended with gasoline to fuel their own car.”
E15 is the most tested fuel in history. The U.S. Department of Energy performed an exhaustive test of E15, driving 86 cars more than 6 million miles, and approving the fuel for use in all light duty cars and trucks model year 2001 and newer.