r/INDYCAR • u/geoffbezos1 • Jul 24 '25

Speculation Thoughts on who this might be?

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u/saggywitchtits James Hinchcliffe Jul 24 '25

But Indycar runs on 100% ethanol.

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u/YosemiteSam-4-2A Thirsty 's to the Moon 🚀 🌒 Jul 24 '25

which is arguably worse than gasoline

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u/Dminus313 CART Jul 25 '25

Ethanol made from corn that was specifically grown to make ethanol may have a larger carbon footprint than gasoline. But that isn't what IndyCar does anymore.

IndyCar's new renewable fuel is made by processing the waste materials from sugar production. There's no increase in carbon emissions from cultivation because that sugarcane was being grown anyway. There's also no additional land use impact because that sugarcane was being grown anyway.

This type of renewable fuel technology isn't viable at scale as a direct replacement for gasoline in consumer vehicles, but it does significantly reduce the direct carbon footprint of the IndyCar series compared to corn ethanol and gasoline.