History of the Racing Fuels

     Beginning in 2006, all vehicles in the IndyCar Series moved away from methanol, and towards an ethanol-enriched fuel. The Honda Indy V-8 engines competed in the 90th Indianapolis 500 and throughout the 2006 IndyCar Series season on a 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent methanol fuel blend. The high performance engines have demonstrated excellent performance while running on ethanol due to the fuel's high octane content. The 2006 season will not be the first time ethanol fuel has powered a car in the famed Indianapolis 500 series race. The 11th Indianapolis 500, held in 1927, featured a car driven by Leon Duray which was fueled by ethyl (grain) alcohol.

     "Ethanol Day" May 11,2006 was commemorated by U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman when he extended congratulations to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the IndyCar Series for "spreading the word" of ethanol's potential as an alternative to imported oil. 2006 marks a turning not reached since 1965. Methanol was introduced at Indy that year because it was likely to ignite, resulting in a lower fire hazard. The Indy cars ran on methanol fuel for forty years ending at the culmination of the 2005 season. The race car engines demonstrated excellent performance due to the fuel's high octane content and internal dynamometer testing results indicate that there are no technical barriers to replacing methanol with ethanol.