Don't be fuelish source: indycar.com / Dave Lewandowski President George W. Bush and the IndyCar Series are in the same corn field when promoting the message of American-produced renewable fuel. In his sixth State of the Union address Jan. 23, President Bush called for large increases in production of renewable fuels such as ethanol in the next decade. "It's in our vital interest to diversify America's energy supply, and the way forward is through technology," President Bush said in the report to a joint session of Congress and a worldwide audience. "We must continue in new methods of producing ethanol. We've made a lot of progress thanks to good policies here in Washington and the strong response to the market, and now even more dramatic advances are within reach." The IndyCar Series is at the forefront of the push for renewable and environmentally responsible fuel. Beginning with an Open Test on Jan. 31-Feb. 1 at Daytona International Speedway, IndyCar Series cars will be the first in motorsports to use 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol. Ethanol, which is blended in 46 percent of all retail gasoline in the United States, is continually growing in acceptance as both a renewable fuel as well as a means to decrease America's energy dependence on other nations. Currently, ethanol-enriched fuel reduces the need for more than 600,000 barrels of oil per day. In 2005, Congress approved a fuel standard that called for increasing renewable fuel use to 7.5 billion gallons by 2012. The president is seeking to more than quadruple that amount - to 35 billion gallons - by 2017 while cutting gasoline consumption by 20 percent. There are more than 110 ethanol production facilities across the country, producing more than 5.4 billion gallons of ethanol annually, with more in various phases of development and construction. "The IndyCar Series shares the president's commitment to energy security," said Brian Barnhart, president and COO of the Indy Racing League, the sanctioning body of the IndyCar Series and Indy Pro Series. "We accept the challenge of making these goals a reality."
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