Checkered flag going green

Are auto sports eco-friendly?

At first glance, you’d think auto racing wouldn’t qualify.  Consider: they burn a lot of fuel to zoom around and around in circles doing nothing but going fast and entertaining thousands of fans.  Whether you enjoy it or not, that’s hardly model environmentally-friendly entertainment.

Fair enough, but now consider this.  This year’s Honda Indy Toronto burned nary a liter of good old fashioned gasoline.  Each of the cars participating in the race ran on 100 per cent ethanol.

Much gasoline available today has small amounts of ethanol mixed in. Regular cars built in the past 30 years can all run on a blend with 10 per cent ethanol, and not too long ago, an Ottawa gas station made just such a concoction available to the public. It was considered a big deal.

So cars running on 100 per cent ethanol are a very big deal.  Especially racing cars, because going faster (and they go really fast) burns more fuel.  That’s complicated math, but it means the carbon emissions from these cars is nil. This race is pollutant-free.

The Indy Racing League (IRL) is certainly making an effort.  Since 2007, they have been racing with 100 per cent ethanol fuel and have replaced old lead wheel weights with ones made of a less corrosive, more environmentally-friendly material. They installed trackside recycling containers, and donate leftover food to local food banks.

The IRL has been doing its level best to have people equate “auto racing” with “eco-friendly.”  That, at least, deserves an honorary checker flag.