NASCAR’s 2024 Foray in Iowa Comes With Noble Message

The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series schedule will take the Cup series to the cornfields of Iowa next season. The upcoming event recently confirmed its name with Iowa Corn as the entitlement sponsor. The Iowa Corn 350, Powered by Ethanol will be NASCAR’s first time racing in the state, and since NASCAR already uses an ethanol blend as their fuel, it would prove to be a good promotion for the sustainable fuel source.

In a press release, the Iowa Corn Promotion Board president Stan Nelson mentioned, “I am pleased to share with the NASCAR family, why choosing higher blends of ethanol benefits everyone…”

He explained, “We can make a sustainable difference today, without buying a whole new vehicle, but by simply choosing to fuel up with ethanol at the pump. And not only are we benefiting the environment but also our economy, as ethanol is the most affordable renewable fuel option on the market today.”

How does NASCAR use ethanol in its fuel blends?

The fuel used in NASCAR cars is known as Unleaded Green E15, which is a 15% mixture of ethanol with gasoline, and since it is green in color, the word green is added to the name. The fuel is provided by Sunoco and has been in use within all formats of NASCAR since the 2011 season.

Before this, the fuel used by NASCAR was either Sunco Supreme or Sunco 260 GTX. Both of them used to be leaded fuels derived from 100% gasoline.

The use of this ethanol-blended unleaded fuel has helped NASCAR reduce its carbon emissions by 20 percent across the Cup, Xfinity, and Truck Series over the years. Interestingly, the new fuel has also increased efficiency and the same amount of power, despite having a lower octane rating (98) than the pure gasoline (110) variant.