by Sarah Miley

STAFF WRITER

These days, green is in. And the move to become more environmentally conscious has now come to include the racing circuit in the American Le Mans Series, which rolls into Miller Motorsports Park this weekend for the Utah Grand Prix.

The series, which features 12 races in the United States and Canada, is expected to draw thousands of spectators to MMP this weekend (see related story on A11).

And while the race has been here twice before, the green racing initiatives are new this year.

The series has partnered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Energy and SAE International (Society of Automotive Engineers) to promote green racing principles, according to Tyra Sitton, director of public relations and media services and promotions for the American Le Mans Series.

"The American Le Mans Series is the first motorsports series to meet the criteria for green racing being developed by these groups," Sitton said.

The criteria to qualify for a green racing series focuses on performance, fuel efficiency and ecological impact. These elements include the use of renewable bio-based fuel; use of multiple engines, fuels and powertrain configurations; use of regenerative energy powertrain technologies; use of well-to-wheel energy analysis and greenhouse-gas analysis; and use of emission-control strategies and systems.

"Like never before, America is confronting a nexus of concerns relating to climate change and energy security -- among the greatest challenges of our time," said Margo Oge, director of the office of transportation and air quality at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington D.C. "There's no reason why the motorsports community should not be part of the dialogue. My office, which is concerned with pollution from mobile sources, is all about putting clean, efficient technologies on the 'fast track,' and that's what this initiative literally seeks to accomplish."

Teams within the series run off of three fuels -- clean diesel, E10 and E85R. E10 is a blend of 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline. E85R is a blend of up to 85 percent cellulosic ethanol -- which is made from wood waste, not corn -- and 15 percent gasoline. The third fuel is zero-sulfur clean diesel.

Doug Fehan, program manager for Corvette Racing, said using cellulosic E85 has little or no affect on speeds and times. He said a gallon of gasoline has more energy than a gallon of ethanol, so on a volume basis you can't go as far. Teams, however, have worked to compensate for the lower fuel mileage.

"From a power standpoint, what has to happen is you have to have more cellulosic E85 squirted into each cylinder when it combusts to equal the power of gasoline," he said, adding that's roughly 20 to 25 percent more. "But if you can get more in there, the power is the same, so the car will be just as fast. The issue is it can't go as far because you're using more fuel to create the same power."

Spectators won't be able to notice the difference, he said.

"It doesn't sound any different, the cars go the same speed, everything's the same," he said.

Lord Paul Drayson, team principal and driver for British team Drayson-Barwell Motorsport, said he wanted to be a part of the series when he found out it was going more green. Drayson is a member of the British House of Lords and a former British Government Minister.

"Climate change is the greatest challenge facing our generation and motorsport has its part to play," he said.

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