Officials from
NASCAR and Sunoco announced on
Saturday that a 15 percent ethanol blend will be used in race
fuel for all
three of
NASCAR's national touring series,
beginning in 2011.
NASCAR and Sunoco held a press
conference at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the
site of Saturday's 500-mile Sprint Cup Series race.
The ethanol mix -- known as Sunoco Green E15 -- will be blended
at Sunoco's
fuel facility in Marcus Hook, PA. The American-made corn
ethanol will come in
part from the gasoline manufacturer's new facility in Fulton,
NY. The new fuel
will be pumped directly from tankers at the track, rather
than from on-site
underground storage tanks.
NASCAR team engine builders have
been testing the fuel for several months, and
response has been positive. Many teams reported an increase
in horsepower.
"What we know from the testing is that the fuel that we've
chosen and the fuel
that was ultimately developed by Sunoco is going to be
cleaner burning,"
NASCAR Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer Brian France said during the
announcement. "It's going to be actually, from a performance
standpoint, we're
actually going to be better. I'm told the drivers will have a
little more
horsepower and so on."
