The UK American Blog

Gasoline has not been used in American’s premiere open wheel racecars for over forty years. Instead, the fastest racing on the planet has been powered by methanol, a fuel made from natural gas. One benefit of methanol over gasoline is that it is more environmentally friendly, but this has little to do with the initial decision to switch. It is also less volatile than gasoline, and therefore potentially safer in the event of an accident, and that was the key in the wake of 1964’s Indianapolis 500.

On lap two of the prestigious (then USAC sanctioned) 500-mile race, rookie driver Dave McDonald crashed his Ford Thompson into the wall, causing the fuel tank to rupture and the gasoline to ignite. With the race less than 5 miles in, McDonald had a nearly full tank, meaning approximately 70 gallons would feed the inferno.

McDonald’s flaming racecar then collected the racecar of the affable Eddie Sachs, a firm favorite with the crowd. Before the smoke cleared, a further five racecars would be involved, and Eddie Sachs would lose his life. McDonald would die later that same day in hospital from the injuries he received.

USAC ordered the switch to methanol, a decision that carried over to Champ Car when it was formed in the late 1970s, and subsequently the Indy Racing League (IRL) upon its inception in 1996.

While methanol fueled engines have driven America’s open wheel racecars and enjoyed support from Ford, Chevrolet, Honda, Toyota and others along the way, it is not seen as the future of motoring. Methanol is both a natural resource and expensive to produce, which doesn’t make it viable as a domestic replacement to gasoline. This issue is one being tackled by the IRL.

In 2006 the IRL used a fuel mixture of 90% methanol and 10% ethanol. Ethanol is a green fuel that is made from grain, and is thus a renewable fuel source. In 2007 the IRL will switch to 100% ethanol, and May’s Memorial Day weekend will see the first Indy 500 run entirely on a renewable and sustainable fuel.

Critics of ethanol say it isn’t the future of domestic motoring as its implementation is financially infeasible, while supporters claim their figures do add up, the cost of producing grain for fuel being far less than that of grain for foodstuffs. And while a standard car engine cannot run on ethanol, manufacturers like Fiat and Renault have developed engines that can use either fuel.

One factor that cannot be argued is production. Within the next two years the USA should be producing around 9 billion gallons of ethanol per year, while the annual requirement for gasoline is 150 billion gallons. More and more cars will be produced that run on ethanol, or can run on both fuels, and ethanol is likely to claim a share of the gasoline market, but the day it may become the fuel of choice is far from dawning.

Further Reading

1964’s fateful Indianapolis 500: http://indymotorspeedway.com/500d-64.htm
Ethanol Promotion and Information Council: http://www.drivingethanol.org
IndyCar Series Ethanol Page: http://www.indycar.com/tech/ethanol.php
Renault Clio Hi-Flex: http://www.renault.co.uk/NMNewsItemDisplay.aspx?nid=138&nc=10

YouTube Clip of 1964’s Indianapolis 500

Technorati Tags: Indianapolis 500, Dave McDonald, Eddie Sachs, IRL, methanol, ethanol, Indy 500