June 24, 2005

Team Ethanol Indy Car and Drivers Coming to Lincoln

LINCOLN, NE—Indy Car race drivers Paul Dana and Jimmy Kite with the Ethanol Hemelgarn Racing Team will be in Lincoln Tuesday, June 28 to discuss the Indy Racing League’s (IRL) decision to switch to ethanol as its official fuel. 

Dana and Kite will be available to visit with fans and sign autographs from 12:30 to 2:00 on Centennial Mall, between L and M Streets, just east of the State Office Building.  One of the Team Ethanol Indy cars will also be on display on Centennial Mall, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. 

Dana, a rookie driver in the Indy Car Series, helped convince IRL officials to make the conversion from methanol to ethanol.    Last March, officials announced that the IndyCar series would use a 10 percent ethanol blend in 2006, and switch to 100 percent ethanol in 2007.

Dana said he first considered using a race car to promote energy independence and policy shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  He convinced ethanol industry leaders to sponsor his car, and then helped convince the entire league to switch to ethanol.

“We’re very pleased and excited to help bring the Team Ethanol car and drivers to Nebraska,” said Steve Ebke of Daykin, president of the Nebraska Corn Growers Association.  “The IndyCar Series’ conversion to ethanol is an important step in convincing even more motorists that ethanol provides positive performance benefits for their vehicles.”

Ebke said ethanol has become a very important market for Nebraska’s corn producers.  Ethanol production in Nebraska now consumes more than 200 million bushels of corn each year—about 23 percent of Nebraska’s corn supply.

“Nebraska’s 27,000 corn producers have made these ethanol industry developments possible through their ongoing investment of checkoff dollars.  The promotion, research, federal lobbying and market development efforts of the checkoff program and the Corn Growers Association are leading the way for continued growth of this dynamic industry,” said Chairman of the Nebraska Corn Board Mark Jagels.

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