Wonders Loom: The Greening Of NASCAR

David C. Holzman
by David C. Holzman

The rot-gut whiskey powered good ol’ boys who turned their fleet flite from revenooers into stock car racing must be flipping their ‘40 Fords in their graves. Nah, on second thought, they’d be so proud that their Prohibition-defying race car culture has swept the nation they’d be bemused by the news. Nascar is going effete… uh, green.

Yes, while the main event remains a way to turn hydrocarbons into carbon dioxide and NOx and Sox, and disperse rubber particles hither and yon while making really loud music, the friendly stock car racers near you are cleaning up their ancillary activities. For example, Nascar supported the installation last year of 40,000 solar panels over 25 acres at Pocono Raceway, for an annual savings of $500k; it plants 10 mature trees after each race; at the Infineon track in Sonoma, CA, a small herd of sheep keep the grass trimmed (and probably fertilize it); and the Roush Fenway team recycles 96% of each car it builds, has banned styrofoam cups, and its workers now ride bicycles—BICYCLES!—around its North Carolina facility. Oily rags, lubricants, oil filters, and used fuels are being recycled (used fuels recycled?! That sounds like alchemy!), according to our source, an article in the New York Times. And the pace car of choice is now the Toyota Camry hybrid (don’t laugh!).

The big deal about this is probably not so much the pollution avoided as it is the example it sets for a demographic not known for its enthusiasm towards reducing carbon emissions and smog. (It would be a really good trick if they could somehow work a carbon tax into all this.)

Of course, putting the logo of American Ethanol, the PR group for the National Corn Growers Association, on the starter flags is not the best example in the world. It might be better of the ethanol were being distilled by the great grandchildren of those original moonshiners, from waste fruit from the local Food Lion, somewhere in the nearby hills.

David C. Holzman
David C. Holzman

I'm a freelance journalist covering science, medicine, and automobiles.

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  • FreedMike Off topic, but folks, this site is not working well for me from a technical standpoint, and it doesn't matter if I'm using my phone, or my computer (on two different browsers). It locks up and makes it impossible to type anything in after a certain point. Anyone else having these issues?
  • Syke Kinda liked the '57, hated the '58. Then again, I hated the entire '58 GM line except for the Chevrolet. Which I liked better than the '57's. Still remember dad's '58 Impala hardtop, in the silver blue that was used as the main advertising color.
  • Dartdude The bottom line is that in the new America coming the elites don't want you and me to own cars. They are going to make building cars so expensive that the will only be for the very rich and connected. You will eat bugs and ride the bus and live in a 500sq-ft. apartment and like it. HUD wants to quit giving federal for any development for single family homes and don't be surprised that FHA aren't going to give loans for single family homes in the very near future.
  • Ravenuer The rear view of the Eldo coupe makes it look fat!
  • FreedMike This is before Cadillac styling went full scale nutty...and not particularly attractive, in my opinion.
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