Recently the House passed its version of the latest energy bill nicknamed “Cap and Trade.” It is designed to impose an end to the America’s dependence on foreign and “dirty” energy or else pay through the nose for it. With all the emphasis on clean technology and automotive efficiency, you’ve got to wonder how this will affect the racing community.
Traditionally the competitive automotive world has only been worried about one thing…how to go faster or quicker. Little regard was paid to the efficiency or cleanliness of getting there. It just wasn’t part of the equation. Today, the community is changing its priorities. The ALMS has its Green Challenge, Indy cars are running on ethanol, Audi and Peugeot are racing (and winning) on diesel, and the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup is promoting racing on bio diesel. There may be some die-hards out there thinking that this green thing is just a fad, but don’t under estimate the power of green. But no matter what happens, the eternal truth about racers is that they just want to race….the competitive spirit will never die!
Much like you can’t define the community of hot rodding simply within the boundaries of a certain type of car, you can’t limit racing to only those cars powered by gasoline, methanol, ethanol, diesel, or even jet fuel… (well maybe today you can, but tomorrow…). Any racer knows that once that helmet goes on and they are out on the track, it doesn’t matter what car you are in, or what’s in the tank, the focus is only on gaining the next position and that is fueled only by the desire to win.
As “green” technologies evolve, embrace it! Racers are famously known for being tinkerer’s. They are almost by the very definition fascinated by the technology that powers their machines and the science that allows them to go faster. As new technologies emerge and cleaner fuels are developed…view the opportunity…its wide open.
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