By DAVE BLOWER JR.
Farm World Editor

SPEEDWAY, Ind. — In its second year of fueling each of the competitors in the Indianapolis 500, the corn-based renewable fuel completed the stamina test that is synonymous with the event.
Scott Dixon won the race on Sunday with his engine powered by a 100 percent ethanol fuel. Last year’s race, won by Dario Franchitti, was stopped after only 166 laps and 415 miles due to recurring rainy conditions on race day.

Sunday, though, was warm and windy – allowing all 200 laps on the 2 1/2-mile oval to be completed. According to Indy Racing League fuel services workers, more than 12,000 gallons of ethanol was used in racecars at the Speedway this month.

The IRL sources said each car gets about 3 mpg during the race, which is better than methanol – the previously used race fuel. The better gas mileage has allowed the IRL to reduce the size of the car’s fuel tanks from 30 gallons to 22 gallons – thus reducing the weight of the cars and increasing speed.

The IRL provides each team with 185 gallons of ethanol for race day. “We figure on giving each team more than they need for the day,” said IRL Fuel Services manager Kenneth Burgess.

The 100 percent ethanol racing fuel is produced by LifeLine Foods of St. Joseph, Mo. Starting in 2007, the IRL became the first racing league to use 100 percent ethanol to power its cars. During the course of this season, LifeLine will produce about 120,000 gallons of ethanol for IRL racing, testing and qualifications.

Delivering the milk

Southern Indiana dairy farmers Anita Schmitt and Sam Schwoeppe delivered the traditional champion’s bottle of milk to Dixon on Sunday.

“Just as everyone around the world thinks of the 500-mile race when they hear the word ‘Indianapolis,’ most also are aware of how every winner toasts victory at this great track,” Schwoeppe explained prior to the race. “Anita and I take the responsibility of representing this tradition very seriously, and look forward to the great opportunity of carrying it forward come May 25.”

The victory milk is sponsored by the American Dairy Assoc. of Indiana. Schmitt and Schwoeppe are board members with Milk Promotion Services of Indiana.

The tradition started when Louis Meyer, the race’s first three-time winner with victories in 1928, 1933 and 1936, asked for his favorite beverage – buttermilk – to quench his thirst following the 1933 event.

Milk was sometimes presented to winners after that moment. In 1956, however, the champion’s bottle of milk was made a permanent part of the post-race celebration by then-Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony Hulman.

“We are honored to be selected by our peers to continue the tradition that means so much to those of us involved in the dairy industry here in Indiana, as well as throughout the U.S.,” Schmitt said. “We appreciate the support of this tradition by the Hulman-George family, and recognize the important place it holds in the hearts of everyone who loves the Indianapolis 500.”

The website for Sports Illustrated, www.si.com, ranked the bottle of milk as the “Sport’s World’s Coolest Prize.” It ranked higher than the Stanley Cup, the Heisman Trophy, the Master’s Green Jacket, the Kentucky Derby’s Blanket of Roses, and an Olympic Gold Medal – just to name a few.

Servia: Top rookie qualifier

The milk in victory lane isn’t the only prize offered by Hoosier dairy producers.

For the past 34 years, the American Dairy Assoc. of Indiana has honored the fastest rookie qualifier for the Indianapolis 500. This award is among the longest-running sponsorships at the Speedway.
Oriol Servia of Pals, Spain was this year’s winner. He led a class of 13 rookies in this year’s event – the most rookies in the race since 1997. Servia qualified with a four-lap average speed of 220.767 mph and started the race in 25th position. He finished the race in 11th place.

Servia received $5,000, a plaque and had his name engraved on the trophy that is on permanent display in the Speedway’s Hall of Fame Museum.

Past recipients of this award include former Indy 500 winners Rick Mears, Jaques Villeneuve, Eddie Cheever Jr. and Juan Pablo Montoya. The fastest-ever rookie qualifier was Tony Stewart in 1996 who started from the pole position with a speed of 233.100 mph.

Other related notes

•Among the honored guests during the annual Fastest Rookie of the Year Award luncheon was Elizabeth Byers, the reigning Indiana Dairy Princess from West Lafayette, Ind.

Byers is the daughter of David and Julie Byers, and she is finishing her junior year at William Henry Harrison High School. Byers represented the Indiana Brown Swiss Assoc. in the Dairy Princess competition.

•Ryan Hunter-Reay, who drives for Rahal-Letterman Racing which is sponsored by the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council, finished in sixth place and earned Rookie of the Year honors. He started the event in 20th, but he raced with the leaders all day.
“This was the best Indy 500 for ethanol,” Hunter-Reay said.

•Hunter-Reay and fellow rookie drivers Graham Rahal and Justin Wilson pumped E10 and E85 to help promote ethanol to customers of a Crystal Flash gas station in Carmel, Ind. on May 20.