Ethanol to power IRL cars from 2006.

The Indy Racing League has announced that is has reached an agreement which will see the Ethanol Industry become the fuel supplier for the IndyCar series starting in 2006.

The target for next season will be to get cars running on a mixture of 90 percent methanol and 10 percent ethanol - a clean burning and 100 percent biodegradable fuel which is known to deliver strong engine performance. Blend specifics will be determined after speaking with the IRL's 2006 engine manufacturers.

From 2007, the fuel will become 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol in IndyCar Series cars, the same fuel that has the potential to replace at least 10 percent of America's gasoline supply.

The announcement was made yesterday [Thursday] at historic Union Station on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., where CEO of the IRL Tony George, IRL president Brian Barnhart and senior vice president of business sffairs Ken Ungar teamed with several high-ranking ethanol industry leaders and political figures, including senator Jim Talent, senator Evan Bayh and senator John Thune.

"We are proud to partner with the Ethanol industry to showcase a great American fuel source," Ungar said. "We feel a commitment to the environment and our country's energy security is consistent with our sport's legacy of race-bred innovation and leadership."

Race car engines operating on ethanol have previously shown excellent performance due to the fuel's high octane content and internal dynamometer testing has shown that there are no technical barriers to replacing methanol with ethanol on IRL cars for the 2006 season.

"The transition between methanol and ethanol in our cars should be very smooth," Phil Casey, the IRL's senior technical director said. "Our cars won't sound differently, smell differently or run differently than they have in the past. There will be a seamless transition from methanol to ethanol in our cars."

Ethanol is the only proven commercial scale renewable transportation fuel currently available in the marketplace. The 2006 season will not be the first time ethanol fuel has powered a car in the famed Indianapolis 500. At the 1927 race, a car driven by Leon Duray was fuelled by ethyl alcohols.

"Ethanol has long been common in many Midwest markets, and over the last several years it has succeeded in meeting market demand in California and the Northeast," Dave Vander Griend, president of ICM, Inc said. "Production capacity for ethanol is keeping pace with the increased demand for quality fuel additives, and we are partnering with our petroleum customers as we move into new markets. We are extremely proud of this partnership with the IndyCar Series, and are eager to demonstrate the quality and performance of our product on the world stage."

To help build anticipation and awareness for this switch among the IndyCar Series' dedicated fans, the ethanol industry is sponsoring one entry in this year's IndyCar Series lineup, with the #91 Ethanol Hemelgarn Dallara-Toyota being driven by Paul Dana [see separate story].