IGNITE fuel in Chronicle-Tribune

Tony10E · 7/29/11, 7:20 AM

Saw this in the paper today. Interesting deal......

From www.chronicle-tribune.com

Local firm to fuel USAC
By Matt Wilson
mwilson@chronicle-tribune.com
Published: Friday, July 29, 2011 2:05 AM EDT

CLERMONT — Jay Berry’s continued promotion of ethanol has landed him with a connection to the United States Auto Club Racing series.

Berry is the co-founder and vice president of National Biofuels Distribution, which supplies Indiana and its municipalities with e85 and the racing fuel IGNITE. During Thursday’s Ansell Protective Gloves 200 at Lucas Oil Raceway in Clermont, it was announced that starting in 2013 IGNITE would be used by all the USAC drivers.

IGNITE is an ethanol fuel for high performance racing applications.

“IGNITE represents the whole ethanol industry,” said Berry, who lives in Swayzee. “We are just really excited for the sponsorship with USAC and that they will be using our ethanol in all of their races.”

Berry started up and founded Central Indiana Ethanol in Marion. Berry said CIE won’t be involved in the new partnership. National Biofuels Distribution is currently headquartered in Carmel, but soon will be moving to Grant County. All the fuel is blended in Grant County.

Reggie Henderson is the president of National Biofuels Distribution.

Thursday’s racing schedule included midgets, ARCA and silver crowns. The announcement about IGNITE was made right before the ARCA race.

There will be two USAC leagues using IGNITE next year. In 2013, all the USAC leagues — midgets, quarter midgets, silver crown, sprints and Ford focus — all will be using the fuel. USAC is the second biggest motor sports group behind NHRA.

USAC President Kevin Miller said Thursday’s announcement was to name IGNITE the official fuel category of USAC Racing. He said at this point, it won’t be a requirement for all drivers to immediately change to IGNITE. Miller said more testing has to be done before they get to that point.

Miller said Berry approached him with the idea four months ago after some of the USAC drivers had already changed to IGNITE and gave positive feedback. After he was approached with the idea, Miller said the main two areas he had to look into were branding and how IGNITE would benefit drivers in the current platform USAC has.

Branding is a way of showing IGNITE would be better than the current methanol USAC drivers use. Through research and talking to other drivers, Miller found out ethanol burns about 40 percent less fuel than methanol. That helps for both cost and driver’s safety.

To find out if IGNITE would work on the current USAC platform, Miller turned to current drivers who have changed to ethanol — including midget driver Mario Clouser.

“The drivers who had been using ethanol gave me nothing but positive feedback and said nothing negative,” Miller said. “They also said that the conversion to ethanol from methanol would be very little.”

Berry said USAC officials also were concerned about whether the ethanol would cause a problem with the car’s engines and they also had a concern about distribution.

“We showed that the fuel would not cause a problem with the engines and the fuel can be distributed and serviced anywhere,” Berry said.

Berry said running on ethanol provides cars more torque and horsepower. It also is a cooler-burning fuel, which extends the life of an engine.

Some drivers already are using ethanol. Samuel Hubinette is using IGNITE while currently competing in the X games in Los Angeles. Hubinette was born and raised in Jokkmokk, Sweden.

Jesse Strange, who runs modifieds at Montpelier and Gas City motor speedways, switched from methanol to ethanol. Strange, who is in his first year racing, owns Strange Trucking Company in Marion. Strange Trucking Company hauls bulk agriculture products.

“I just saw their flyer and said that I was going to race for anyone that supports me and my company,” Strange said. “I have not raced long enough to know what the difference is between running on methanol and running on ethanol, but ethanol is cost effective and it seems like I have more power there.”

Clouser, a native of Auburn, Ill., started testing with ethanol four years ago. He started racing with IGNITE last year.

“It took us a few years to find things out and just figure out that it was going to be an easy transition and that everything was going to be running OK,” Clouser said.

Clouser said it was an easy decision to change to ethanol.

“The biggest thing is that it’s home grown,” Clouser said. “We wanted to produce and we wanted to burn locally grown and locally used fuel.”

Rogue-9 · 7/29/11, 9:18 AM

They made the official announcement at IRP last night Three year deal.

7/29/11, 7:20 AM	#1 IGNITE fuel in Chronicle-Tribune
Tony10E Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 19	Saw this in the paper today. Interesting deal...... From www.chronicle-tribune.com Local firm to fuel USAC By Matt Wilson mwilson@chronicle-tribune.com Published: Friday, July 29, 2011 2:05 AM EDT CLERMONT — Jay Berry’s continued promotion of ethanol has landed him with a connection to the United States Auto Club Racing series. Berry is the co-founder and vice president of National Biofuels Distribution, which supplies Indiana and its municipalities with e85 and the racing fuel IGNITE. During Thursday’s Ansell Protective Gloves 200 at Lucas Oil Raceway in Clermont, it was announced that starting in 2013 IGNITE would be used by all the USAC drivers. IGNITE is an ethanol fuel for high performance racing applications. “IGNITE represents the whole ethanol industry,” said Berry, who lives in Swayzee. “We are just really excited for the sponsorship with USAC and that they will be using our ethanol in all of their races.” Berry started up and founded Central Indiana Ethanol in Marion. Berry said CIE won’t be involved in the new partnership. National Biofuels Distribution is currently headquartered in Carmel, but soon will be moving to Grant County. All the fuel is blended in Grant County. Reggie Henderson is the president of National Biofuels Distribution. Thursday’s racing schedule included midgets, ARCA and silver crowns. The announcement about IGNITE was made right before the ARCA race. There will be two USAC leagues using IGNITE next year. In 2013, all the USAC leagues — midgets, quarter midgets, silver crown, sprints and Ford focus — all will be using the fuel. USAC is the second biggest motor sports group behind NHRA. USAC President Kevin Miller said Thursday’s announcement was to name IGNITE the official fuel category of USAC Racing. He said at this point, it won’t be a requirement for all drivers to immediately change to IGNITE. Miller said more testing has to be done before they get to that point. Miller said Berry approached him with the idea four months ago after some of the USAC drivers had already changed to IGNITE and gave positive feedback. After he was approached with the idea, Miller said the main two areas he had to look into were branding and how IGNITE would benefit drivers in the current platform USAC has. Branding is a way of showing IGNITE would be better than the current methanol USAC drivers use. Through research and talking to other drivers, Miller found out ethanol burns about 40 percent less fuel than methanol. That helps for both cost and driver’s safety. To find out if IGNITE would work on the current USAC platform, Miller turned to current drivers who have changed to ethanol — including midget driver Mario Clouser. “The drivers who had been using ethanol gave me nothing but positive feedback and said nothing negative,” Miller said. “They also said that the conversion to ethanol from methanol would be very little.” Berry said USAC officials also were concerned about whether the ethanol would cause a problem with the car’s engines and they also had a concern about distribution. “We showed that the fuel would not cause a problem with the engines and the fuel can be distributed and serviced anywhere,” Berry said. Berry said running on ethanol provides cars more torque and horsepower. It also is a cooler-burning fuel, which extends the life of an engine. Some drivers already are using ethanol. Samuel Hubinette is using IGNITE while currently competing in the X games in Los Angeles. Hubinette was born and raised in Jokkmokk, Sweden. Jesse Strange, who runs modifieds at Montpelier and Gas City motor speedways, switched from methanol to ethanol. Strange, who is in his first year racing, owns Strange Trucking Company in Marion. Strange Trucking Company hauls bulk agriculture products. “I just saw their flyer and said that I was going to race for anyone that supports me and my company,” Strange said. “I have not raced long enough to know what the difference is between running on methanol and running on ethanol, but ethanol is cost effective and it seems like I have more power there.” Clouser, a native of Auburn, Ill., started testing with ethanol four years ago. He started racing with IGNITE last year. “It took us a few years to find things out and just figure out that it was going to be an easy transition and that everything was going to be running OK,” Clouser said. Clouser said it was an easy decision to change to ethanol. “The biggest thing is that it’s home grown,” Clouser said. “We wanted to produce and we wanted to burn locally grown and locally used fuel.” _________________________________________________ Last edited by Tony10E; 7/29/11 at 7:21 AM.

7/29/11, 9:18 AM	#2 Re: IGNITE fuel in Chronicle-Tribune
Rogue-9 Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 150	They made the official announcement at IRP last night Three year deal.