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GM to Urge NASCAR to Switch to Ethanol
5 May 2007
That’s Racin. GM, one of NASCAR’s top sponsors, plans to file a formal petition asking that NASCAR join other racing series and switch to ethanol.
The recommendation by General Motors Corp., planned for later this year, comes just as NASCAR adjusts to a recent change to unleaded gasoline, decades behind the commercial marketplace.
GM sponsors 22 Nextel Cup cars under its Chevrolet nameplate, about half the field of any given race. A NASCAR spokesman said it is always open to new ideas, but withheld comment until GM actually presents a plan.
May 5, 2007 in Brief | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack (0)
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Comments
Well, Nextel switched to Sprint, so this changeover to
ethanol, from unleaded gasoline, shouldn't be difficult.
Now, if we could get them to switch to Li-ion batteries,
I would become a fan of NASCAR. I suspect we are a few
decades away from this being even a remote possibility.
I hope GM starts spending more time on transforming vehicles they actually manufacture, than the ones they sponsor.
Posted by: William | May 5, 2007 8:59:55 AM
This would bring NASCAR back to it's origins as bunch of Hillbilly revenue runners.
Posted by: DS | May 5, 2007 12:27:01 PM
I think they should let the teams do whatever they want with Hybrid and/or EV power - keep it unregulated, but they should keep all the HP and thottle plate restrictions in place for the gas engines. That way we might see some very interesting technologies being developed to get a few extra HP or laps without going into the pits. Racing is boring now because the cars are too balanced - lets mix it up a bit.
Posted by: Chris | May 5, 2007 5:19:21 PM
do all nascar motors make about the same Horse power or are they trade secrets........
Posted by: JAMES BARNHARDT | May 6, 2007 5:47:23 AM
It would be interesting to limit the amount of fuel they are allowed use / carry - and reduce it year by year, say 4% / year for 10 years.
Using ethanol instead of gasoline is just greenwashing.
Posted by: mahonj | May 6, 2007 1:20:33 PM
While I agree they should reduce the amount of fuel each year, this reduction should apply to the whole country. There is nothing like a budget to focus the mind and encourage innovation.
Posted by: tom | May 6, 2007 3:14:32 PM
How about NASCAR Nextel Cup on Ethanol, and Truck Series on Biodiesel?
Posted by: ej | May 6, 2007 7:36:41 PM
There isn't a large disparity between horsepower and torque figures for NASCAR cars, they usually hover around the 850hp range and if I'm not mistaken, a 750cfm carburetor is still mandated. The only real technological progress made in NASCAR in the last twenty years has been in the driver safety arena, it's like they're engineered to be giant bumper cars.
Posted by: Anonymous | May 7, 2007 7:31:15 AM
