Motorsports Brands - American Ethanol Hosts Huge Crowd To Support Bowyer at Kansas

KANSAS CITY, June 5, 2011: Local racing star Clint Bowyer had a special cheering section Sunday at Kansas Speedway in the STP 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event.

Some 1,100 spectators from the American Ethanol industry gave the Emporia, Kan., racer a huge sendoff Sunday morning before the drop of the green flag, and Bowyer’s No. 33 RCR Chevrolet, painted in special green, silver and black American Ethanol livery, started 27th and ran as high as ninth by lap 170. Bowyer finished eighteenth in the 267-lap race at the 1.5-mile oval track west of Kansas City.

Bowyer, who raced in dirt tracks only a few miles from Kansas Speedway as a teenager, was a big crowd favorite Sunday as the Kansas native represented one of his state’s biggest agriculture producers, the corn growers and ethanol producers.

Beginning in 2011, all NASCAR Sprint Cup cars run on Sunoco E15 racing fuel with corn-grown ethanol.

“This is a special race for me,” said Bowyer in the pre-race meeting with the large crowd outside of turn one. “Not only is this race close to my hometown, but I feel very proud to represent the American Ethanol industry and the Kansas corn growers. It means a lot to have the ethanol producers come here and support my team.”

Bowyer was hoping for the double victory weekend at Kansas Speedway Sunday after the 32-year-old driver captured the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 truck race for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Saturday.

“It was a special to win at our home track on Saturday,” said Bowyer. “I watched this place being built when I raced at Lakeside Speedway (near Kansas Speedway) and never dreamed I would race here. We have been close to winning the Sprint Cup race here before (second in 2007). I want to win the Cup race here bad.”

For the American Ethanol group in attendance Sunday, it was a win-win situation.

“We are thrilled with our new relationship with NASCAR,” said Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy, the Washington D.C.-based coalition representing the American Ethanol industry. “There is nothing more American than NASCAR and we have one of the most American products, corn-grown ethanol. So to bring many of the ethanol producers to a NASCAR race in the middle of the Corn Belt was a tremendous opportunity. Our folks at today’s race were so excited to meet Clint and Richard Childress (Bowyer’s team owner) and to see their American Ethanol signage on the No. 33 car. It was a big plus for the program.”

Buis also said that Kansas Governor Sam Brownback attended the race and spoke with the ethanol producers Sunday.

In 2011, Growth Energy and the National Corn Growers Association have coordinated with NASCAR officials to implement “the green initiative” with the cars campaigning in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series™ and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series™.

“This is our first year with NASCAR,” said Buis. “And as you could see today, this is an exciting time to be part of ethanol.”

Some 70,000 gallons of American-made ethanol is scheduled to be used during the 2011 NASCAR racing season. The Sunoco Green E15 is blended at the Sunoco Inc. facility in Marcus Hook, Pa.

American Ethanol is a renewable source of cleaner burning energy from America’s farmers.

Led by Growth Energy, more than 100 different entities, from farmers and state corn growing boards to ethanol producers and biotech companies, are working with NASCAR to introduce a cleaner-burning fuel to America.

American Ethanol supports drivers, teams and tracks with marketing, promotional activities, advertising and a season-long weekly contingency award in 2011. The contingency award appeared on each car competing this weekend at Kansas, and throughout the 2011 season, as an American Ethanol decal around the car’s fuel port.