As polar ice continues to break from ice shelfs in the Arctic and dry conditions fuel fires in California, is it time for the motorsport industry to take green racing seriously? We are seeing pockets of leagues adding this into regulations, but with events drawing crowds in the tens of thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) and an incalculable environmental footprint, is this enough?

People are beginning to demand that each motorsport series become accountable for their actions and environmental initiatives. For example, in the September 2008 issue of Racer Magazine, Margot Thomas of Chandler AZ vents about IndyCar’s use 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol fuels versus cellulosic ethanol fuel.

Is IndyCar a leader by being the first motorsports league to sanction a renewable fuel or are they simply acting on social pressures and a good car sponsor / series marketing initiative? Note that the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council is a sponsor for the number 17 Ryan Hunter-Reay / Rahal Letterman Racing car. Either way this is a minor win for the environment in motorsports.

This post is a first of many to profile environmental initiatives by specific teams and leagues. We will be touching more on topics like: the use of ethanol, Honda’s Earth Dreams program, the American Le Mans Series Green Challenge and many others. If you have any relevant information that you would like to share on this topic please post a comment and we’ll include what we can in future posts.

Until next time.